


Internal Demons

by KwanMarkhyuck



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - Gangsters, Alternate Universe - Police, Angst with a Happy Ending, Gangs, Homophobia, Loss, M/M, Mafia NCT, Murder Mystery, Neglect
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:13:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 24,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27758962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KwanMarkhyuck/pseuds/KwanMarkhyuck
Summary: Lee Donghyuck is an amazing detective that just wanted a day off from work, but a case has him questioning everything he thought he had gotten over. He reunites with his brother, Lee Taeyong and his ex, Mark Lee when the case ties NCT into its roots. From there, old feelings rekindle and new bonds are formed. Can Donghyuck protect himself and his new family?
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Suh Youngho | Johnny, Dong Si Cheng | WinWin/Nakamoto Yuta, Huang Ren Jun/Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin, Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Moon Taeil, Kim Jungwoo/Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee, Park Jisung/Zhong Chen Le, Qian Kun/Xiao De Jun | Xiao Jun
Comments: 11
Kudos: 25





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First Fanfic on AO3. All my stories are on AFF's; same username, same title. I hope you all enjoy this cause I enjoyed writing it a lot and I hope you stick with me until the end of the story because this ones gonna be a long one, haha.  
> I try not to put other Kpop groups as the villains, but it may happen and when it does, it is not because I do not like the group, it's because I think they suit the concept of villains very well.  
> This is purely fiction and I hope all NCTzens continue to love and support NCT as much as possible. (90's Love was so good!)

_April 4th, 2020_

The first time that Donghyuck came across one of NCT's gang members was when he was sixteen and was training to be an officer. He had been walking down the street, the smell of rubbish and gas filling the air, when a male dressed in all black had harshly tugged him into an alleyway. The male had shoved a hand over his face, silencing his shouts and grunts and because his face was covered by a black mask, he couldn't identify who was trying to kidnap him.

It had all happened so fast; one moment he had a male's arm wrapped around his throat and then the next, his best friend was swooping in and saving his life.

Na Jaemin had jumped on the stranger's back and wrestled the guy to the floor. Donghyuck had gotten a chance to breathe, so he took in great pants of air before looking up. Jaemin had been on top of the male and he was whispering something in his ear, face pissed off.

Donghyuck hadn't thought anything of it then, but after Jaemin had dragged him away and they were safely settled in a local Café, he wondered just what Jaemin had said to the male. So, that was how he had stumbled into one of the gang's member's. He could still remember it like it was yesterday, but he never really liked to recall memories with Jaemin in them; it caused way too much pain. And sadness. He hated the feeling: especially after waking up, sweaty and pale from a nightmare in the middle of the night.

Donghyuck was currently looking through an email on his computer, curled inwards on himself when his phone rang. The song, Fireflies, filled the air and Donghyuck leaned forward to answer the phone, placing it on speaker.

"Hello?" He asked, hesitantly. He could hear harsh wind whipping against the phone on the other end.

"We've got another case, Donghyuck." He recognized Doyoung's voice and sighed. Donghyuck was an officer, but he specialized in murder case's ~ especially if it was to do with a gang. They got a lot of those, but Donghyuck wasn't really interested unless it was a particular gang.

"I'll be right over." Donghyuck said, climbing off his bed and changing into his clothes. He had been chilling in his room on what was supposed to be a day off, but obviously, a case had to happen and Donghyuck's relaxing day was ripped to shreds. Doyoung hung up just as Donghyuck shut off his computer, sighing at the sight of another email.

Donghyuck was simply nineteen; too old to be dealing with all the stress and darkness that his job came with, but for some reason, he was still apart of the force.

He attatched his badge to his belt and slung on his leather jacket, grabbing his keys and phone. Once he was outside, he breathed in the air and started heading to his car, feeling his phone ding in his hand. Doyoung had just texted him the location of the crime scene, so Donghyuck set of on his journey.

When Donghyuck was little, something truly horrible had happened to his family and that had led him to becoming a police officer and detective. He knew he was really young to be in the force, and for that he was underappreciated and scoffed upon, but he really liked his job. He would be nothing without it. Solving murder's and bringing justice to families is what his life was run by. That was his motivation to start a new case and get up in the morning.

Donghyuck parked his car on the edge of the sidewalk, just a corner behind the crime scene and climbed out, shutting off the engine. He glanced around and tugged his jacket closer to himself before walking towards the crime scene. Donghyuck slipped under the yellow tape once he showed the officer's guarding the place his badge. His face had already settled into a stoic expression and even when he got inside and smelled the scent of fresh blood and rotting flesh, he hardly blinked. He was used to it afterall; it had become apart of his life ~ he was a hair breadth away from being immune to it.

Donghyuck wasn't sure if it was a blessing or a curse.

A bad or good thing.

"Nice to see you, Lee." Doyoung muttered, sarcasm dripping from his words and Donghyuck rolled his eyes. He wasn't surprised or hurt because Doyoung was always salty during work hours. He only let loose and allowed a smidge of affection after work was really over and done with for the day.

"What's the cause of death?" Donghyuck asked, tilting his head to the side as he dropped into a crouch. He grabbed some gloves Doyoung handed him and tugged the over his hands, wiggling his fingers back and forward. Doyoung grimaced.

"Blood loss; a head wound too. That's why the scent is so potent because there's so much of it." Doyoung explained and Donghyuck hummed, carefully pulling down the victim's collar when he caught a flash of silver. It was one of those locket's you could put a picture in; those heart shaped cheesy locket's people bought their partners as a type of half willed promise.

"I can see that." Donghyuck murmured, flipping the locket open and examining the male in the locket's picture. "Have you run facial diagnostics yet? Or run her fingerprints to see if she shows up?" Donghyuck asked and Doyoung nodded.

"Yeah, her name's Stacy Well's. Seventeen years old. She has a record of drug's and theft. Petty crimes really; nothing to major that would bring up red flags." Doyoung told Donghyuck. Donghyuck frowned.

"And the male?" Donghyuck questioned, glancing up just in time to see Doyoung's face twist in confusion.

"What male?" Doyoung asked and watched as Donghyuck tilted the locket his way, the male's picture staring right at Doyoung.

"This male."

~~~~~~~~~~

"Alright!" Doyoung exclaimed as he collapsed into a seat next to Donghyuck. Donghyuck was eating his lunch and was also waiting for Doyoung to get information on the male in the picture. "The male's name is Wong Yukhei and apparently, the two were dating, but he broke it off over a week and a half ago." Doyoung said, making Donghyuck raise an eyebrow.

"And why exactly did he break it off?" He asked. Doyoung shrugged as Donghyuck continued to eat his food, shoving fries into his mouth. He occasionally took a sip of his drink, but he left most of it for Doyoung. Doyoung always was thirsty on the job, yet never hungry.

"Don't know. That's why I came to talk to you. Why else would someone break up with someone so close to the day they just got murdered?" Doyoung murmured. Donghyuck glanced at him and then started packing up his food, appetite disappearing ~ Doyoung really did need to find a better time than lunch to ask him these questions.

"Unless they were hiding something." Donghyuck said. Doyoung snapped his fingers and pointed at his partner.

"Exactly and that's why I thought we should check out Wong's last whereabout's. The last time anyone saw him was when he was taking a hike and he was renting a whole cabin in the middle of nowhere basically." Doyoung said, stealing Donghyuck's drink and taking a huge gulp. Donghyuck was right to save it.

"It took me forever to scavenge for a recent location, but when you're as good as me; nothing is impossible." Doyoung stated, patting himself proudly. Donghyuck swivelled around in his chair with a snort.

"Yeah, right, Doyoung. You wouldn't even know the kid's name if it weren't for me. You'd be pulling at straws: _again."_ Donghyuck stressed and Doyoung muttered some curse words under his breath before getting to his feet.

"Just hurry up. We're taking my car because yours is shit and wouldn't be able to last the hour drive up there." Doyoung said. Donghyuck swivelled around quickly until he was facing Doyoung.

"An hour drive?" He shrieked and Doyoung nodded.

"Yep. Now hurry up, I want to get back before dawn." Doyoung scowled. The partner in question raced his hands up in defeat before scrambling to his feet and following after Doyoung. He only took his phone and keys; his badge was in his car on the passenger seat and he was too lazy to go and get it.

"This is going to be pure torture." Donghyuck moaned out as soon as he climbed into the car and did up his seatbelt. Doyoung chuckled next to him as he started the car and backed out of the car park.

"Sure thing, kiddo." Doyoung giggled. Turns out, it was torture. Donghyuck was bored out of his mind over half of the time and Doyoung seemed to find that little detail hilarious. Not to mention the fact that Doyound had poor taste in music.

_"No, Donghyuck, not that song!"_

_"What are you talking about it's NCT Dream, bitch!"_

_"Yeah, put on something different!"_

_"NO!"_

_"YES!"_

_"NO!"_

_"Donghyuck, I swear to god, put on a different song or I'm kicking you out of the car!"_

Donghyuck had put on a different song after that ~ he wasn't in the mood to get kicked to the curb today.

Doyoung parked into a small patch of grass that was vacant of anything and shut off the car. The duo climbed out of the car and made their way up the steps and onto the front porch. Donghyuck banged on the door, shivering slightly from the cold. After a few seconds, the door swung open and someone completely different from the person in the picture open the door.

"Er, hello?" He greeted, confused and Doyoung put on one of his fake, cheerful smiles to relax the male.

"Hello, Sir. We were just wondering if a Wong Yukhei was staying here and if so, we would like to have a quick word." Doyoung said, showing his badge. The male glanced between Doyoung and Donghyuck before sighing and opening the door a foot wider, gesturing inside.

"Come in then." He muttered. Doyoung smiled again and they both walked inside, Donghyuck shuddering from the abrupt change of cold to warm. "Tea? Coffee? I have some cookies I just made." The male said and Doyoung shook his head while Donghyuck glanced around, wandering off into the living room. The male opened his mouth to say something, but Doyoung cut him off.

"Two coffee's would be amazing, thank you, it was quite a long way up from Seoul." Doyoung nodded, letting Donghyuck do his thing. Donghyuck still had his gun in his pocket and two knives stashed in both his boots; he had got them custom made just for the purpose of hiding them from anyone who was a threat.

Donghyuck smirked and slipped into the back garden, spotting a farm at the back of the field. He had seen a peek of the roof as they had pulled into the space; it was very well hidden, but Donghyuck had sharp eyes. He played with the rusty lock for a moment before it clicked open and Donghyuck was prying the door open, shoving it to the left.

The first thing he saw was over three faces conversing with each other; they seemed to be in an argument. The heated conversation was lost as soon as they heard the door slam open, heads whipping to the sound except one. The male from the picture was occuied with something else entirely and didn't even look up to see who had entered.

"Jungwoo, I told you that ~"

"Now, now, Romeo, I'm not Jungwoo, but your boyfriend is kind of held up at the moment. My partner's taking him some place special." Donghyuck interrupted and Yukhei looked up, the other people in the room glancing between each other in confusion and curiosity.

"What'd you do with him?" Yukhei growled and Donghyuck shrugged, glancing behind him at the house.

"I left them alone and the last thing I saw was your boyfriend getting a black eye from my partner. He already had a split lip." Donghyuck smirked when he got the reaction he wanted out of Yukhei. Yukhei slammed his hands down and stormed to Donghyuck.

"What'd you do?" He shouted, throwing a punch in Donghyuck's direction. The punch was so sloppy and filled with hate and rage that Donghyuck was easily able to block it and get Yukhei lying on the floor on his back. Donghyuck knelt and pulled out his gun, placing it under Yukhei's chin.

"What did _you_ do to Stacy Well's?" Donghyuck asked, relishing in the way no one moved in the room. He had complete power over the situation.

"She's an ex. I didn't do anything!" Yukhei exclaimed, face twisting at the coldness of the barrel against his throat. "I don't touch them or talk to them after I break it off; I don't like the connections or loose strings." Yukhei explained. Donghyuck's eyebrows knitted together.

"Then why's she dead?" He demanded, shoving the gun further into Yukhei's throat. He choked. "I don't know!" He shouted.

"I'm as clueless as you are!" He said and Donghyuck was getting frustrated. And the reason was because he believed him. He believed every word that came out of his mouth.

"Why'd you break it off?" Donghyuck whispered. Yukhei frowned at him.

"What?" He demanded.

" _Why'd you break it off_?" Donghyuck growled. Yukhei trembled beneath him.

"I didn't!" Yukhei shouted in panic. _"She_ did because she found out that I was in NCT! She said something about wanting to start over and not get messed up in shit like the past!" Yukhei said. Donghyuck hummed just as the door creaked behind them and Jungwoo gasped.

"Donghyuck, get off him." Doyoung scowled and Donghyuck glared at Yukhei, who cowered slightly before Donghyuck was getting to his feet and crossing the space to meet Doyoung.

"They're part of NCT. She broke it off. He's innocent; for her murder I mean, not other's, but her's." Donghyuck said. "Now can we leave?" Donghyuck asked. Doyoung chuckled.

"Nope. Just sit tight, you nineteen year old granpa." Doyoung said. Donghyuck made a face while Doyoung turned to the others; including Yukhei who was being helped up by Jungwoo. "Now, if you wouldn't mind answering my questions, but if you do mind then we best leave." Doyoung said, turning around. Yukhei extended his hand.

"Wait! I'll answer your questions!" He said and Doyoung smiled. Donghyuck sighed for he was going to get another sleepless night.


	2. Chapter 2

_April 4th, 2020_

"So, where were you the night of the murder, Yukhei?" Doyoung asked, leaning down to pull out his files that were in his bag only to pull up short and frown. Donghyuck was examining his nails, already bored from the investigation; he had got his answers, but Doyoung needed his and his partner's question were always boring.

"Hyuck, where the fuck are the files?" Doyoung demanded and Donghyuck glanced up once before going back to picking his nails. The others in the room watched as Doyoung's jaw clenched. 

"You left them on the desk," Donghyuck told him and Doyoung's mouth dropped open. 

"Why the fuck didn't you get them then?" Doyoung asked in disbelief. Donghyuck sighed. 

"Because unlike you, not everyone can get a perfect night of sleep and at that time I was running low on energy, okay? I tried my best to even stay awake the whole day and considering this is supposed to be my off day, you could at least take it a little easy." Donghyuck snapped and Doyoung stared at him for a moment. 

"You never told me that you still can't get to sleep. You said you were getting better." Doyoung muttered. Donghyuck scoffed down at his thin hands, eyes unfocused. 

"Yeah, well, not everything can be all sunshine and rainbows." Donghyuck retorted, his defence mechanism speeding around inside him. Doyoung's face dropped. "Just ask your damn questions, so we can leave," Donghyuck said and Doyoung nodded, turning to Yukhei. 

"E-Er, so I... where were you the night of Stacey's death?" Doyoung repeated and Yukhei glanced at Jungwoo, who nodded at him, telling the taller male that everything he was about to reveal was okay. That they were okay.

"My boyfriend and I were on a date during that time." Yukhei murmured and Donghyuck chuckled, dryly. The males glared at him, clearly misunderstanding his chuckle for something negative. 

"See, Doyoung, even Yukhei can get a boyfriend; you can't even get laid." Donghyuck snickered and Doyoung huffed. 

"Shut up, Hyuck, just because you're nineteen doesn't mean you can get away with everything. And for your information, I'm perfectly capable of getting laid, I just... haven't found the right person yet." Doyoung sniffed, making Donghyuck snort. 

"Right person, my ass, Do," Donghyuck said, laughing loudly to himself. "You stutter like a schoolgirl whenever a remotely attractive guy comes into you five-foot radius." Donghyuck pointed out. Doyoung snarled at the younger with a playful scowl. 

"And you drive them away with that darn mouth of yours." Doyoung countered, Donghyuck grinning wolfishly at him.

"Exactly, no guy deserves my love because guys are assholes that only look for a good fuck or someone to emotionally manipulate in their sick, fucking twisted cruel games." Donghyuck spat. Doyoung's face softened.

"You know that you can always take a break, right?" Doyoung asked and Donghyuck glanced at him with hesitance in his eyes.

"No, I can't, Doyoung. Because I'm fine; I'm not as broken as I was." Donghyuck hissed at Doyoung, who smiled sadly. 

"But, you're still broken, Donghyuck. Take a break for a while." Doyoung said and Donghyuck snapped, jerking to his feet. He glared at Doyoung with so much anger and fear. 

"I told you once, Doyoung and I will not tell you again. I'm fine." He scowled. Yukhei and the others watched as Donghyuck wavered between sitting down and standing his ground against Doyoung. Doyoung laughed at the boy standing in front of him. 

"You're still the same ten-year-old I met at the precinct nine years ago, Hyuck, I admit that." Doyoung mused, leaning down to search through his bag, pulling out some blank pieces of paper. Donghyuck eyed it suspiciously, resorting to sitting back down in his chair. "So, Yukhei, you were with Jungwoo were on a dare when Stacey was murdered. Is this relationship recent?" Doyoung asked making a male's eyebrows on the side rise. 

"Is that question necessary? Do you really have to ask something so personal?" He demanded. Doyoung glanced at him, fixing him with a dark stare that made the male shrink back.

"Yes," Doyoung said while Donghyuck observed Yukhei and Jungwoo; the way Yukhei was slightly slanted like he was trying to put himself in front of Jungwoo to protect him and the way Jungwoo clenched Yukhei's when to stop him from doing something irrational. A small smile spread across his face. 

"So, Yukhei... Jungwoo, care to answer my question?" 

"No," Donghyuck answered for the duo. Everyone turned to him in surprise. "No, it's not recent," Donghyuck repeated, a small smile spreading across his face. 

"H-How are you sure?" Someone inquired and Donghyuck chuckled, gesturing to Jungwoo and Yukhei's hands and the position they were in. 

"Please, I know romance, kids." Donghyuck pointed out, dryly making another male's face twist at the name he had used. "The way Yukhei are angled towards each other? Newly together couples don't do that: they're shy with each other, cautious, they feel each other out. These two? You've been together way more than just a week... two... maybe three years?" Donghyuck said. Jungwoo gaped at him. 

"Three years and two months," Jungwoo whispered. Donghyuck chuckled. 

"You two are the stereotypical duo; soft male that gets himself an equally soft girlfriend that cooks pastries for a living and badass biker male that has a tiny yet fierce girlfriend or rather no strings attached at all. You two live on opposite sides of the plain field and yet, both of you meet and fall in love like those cliche tv shows." Donghyuck mused, laughing softly to himself. 

"Understandable, but how did you know for sure?" The man next to the other who had asked the question murmured. Donghyuck sighed. 

"I recognise my own." Yukhei's eyes widened at Donghyuck's straightforward statement. "I once had a relationship with a male; blonde hair and those stupid nerd glasses ..." Donghyuck giggled to himself sadly. "He played basketball and had crowds of adoring fans behind him and I was the little whore of the school that had lost both of his parents to a murder; his own brother betraying their whole family. I was the boy with earrings and dyed hair, rainbow tops and ripped jeans, painted nails and rings... some theirs people saw as ugly. 

I went to school and saw him walking down the corridor every single day and my chest would ache with longing. Everyone stared at me with disgust and loathing, but he... he stared at me in awe... like I was meaningful and he actually cared what happened to me. Soon enough, I was in love — how could I not be? He was perfect; too perfect, so of course I thought that when he asked me — me, Lee Donghyuck — out for a date, that it was too good to be true.   
I denied, once then twice, but he kept asking until I finally said yes. So, I went out with him and we got together. He was my boyfriend. But, we had to keep it a secret; if people found out, we'd both be dead and outcasts ~ I couldn't do that to him, so we laid low. We had secret dates and kissed only at night and in area's we were sure no one would find out. Until..." Donghyuck trailed off, watching the others lean forward during his story. The male who had said about the questions being personal raised his eyebrows, pout on his lips. 

"And then what? Until what?" He asked, eyes widening until he looked like a kicked puppy. 

"Until they found out. They found out and I broke it off, moved away to a different school. We went out for a year and it was the best damn year of my life; he was there for me every single day. Every day. I loved him and he loved me, but we couldn't be together. I haven't seen him in four years, yet I still think about him and what would've happened if I had stayed and we continued to fight together." Donghyuck said, fiddling with the paper Doyoung had gotten out.   
He cleared his throat. "That's how I knew for sure, Yukhei, Jungwoo. I knew because I was once like you; forced into hiding, but you should know that some people will find it disgusting, but you always have each other to get through it. You shouldn't listen to others; that's what made me lose the most important person in my life." Donghyuck explained. Yukhei let out a breath. 

"Is... what was his name?" He asked and Donghyuck's eyes clouded over with distant memories of the past. 

"His name... his name was Mark Lee," Donghyuck whispered, smiling down at the paper sadly. 

"Do you still love him?" Jungwoo asked, his body was slightly tensed and frozen like he knew something the duo didn't. Doyoung narrowed his eyes at the people from the gang, seeing the others in a similar state to Jungwoo.

"Of course, I still love him. I haven't stop loving him since the first time he spilt coffee on my expensive white shirt." Donghyuck said, wistfully. Doyoung saw tears profiling in Donghyuck's eyes and hurriedly put the clean paper into his bag; he had forgotten to jot down notes because Donghyuck had never spoken of his past relationships before and it had come as a slight surprise to the older. 

"That'd be all. Thank you for your cooperation; I hope your relationship works out and you continue loving each other." Doyoung said softly, gently pulling Donghyuck to his feet and leading him out of the cabin. The door slammed shut behind them. 

Jungwoo turned to the others. "We need to tell Taeyong about this." He said, the others nodding along in agreement.

Taeyong would go _bonkers_ at this new information.


	3. Chapter 3

_April 9th, 2020_

"So, you're here to tell me that this autopsy report came back as positive for strangling? And that the victim had fingerprints on her neck?" Donghyuck demanded, watching Doyoung nod with a sad look on his face.

"Yes." He said. "And those fingerprints belong to Nakamota Yuta. He's apart of NCT and works side by side with Kim Jungwoo and Wong Yukhei... the two male's we interviewed a few days back." Doyoung added, sipping his cherry coke Donghyuck had bought him. Donghyuck sighed, rubbing his temples.

"Doyoung, you're telling me that we have to go and interview _another_ member of NCT's gang members just because there's a fingerprint on her neck?" Donghyuck shouted. Doyoung winced at the younger's loud tone before nodding, seeing Donghyuck's face sour even more.

"Look, Donghyuck, I know that you don't want to go there and confront them again, but we have to. It's apart of our job and catching the killer that currently roams free. We need to get justice for Stacey." Doyoung said, striking up some guilt in Donghyuck's stomach.

"Fine," Donghyuck muttered. Doyoung smiled in relief, eased that Donghyuck and he didn't have to go through another bout of arguments that would carry on for around another hour.

"Have you got a location on where the gang is residing?" Donghyuck asked, seeing Doyoung's lips quirk into a mischievous smirk.

"Who do you take me for, Detective Lee?" Doyoung asked, reaching behind him and grabbing a file, waving it in front of Donghyuck's face mockingly.

"Okay, okay, we get it. You're good." Donghyuck murmured, hearing Doyoung laugh.

"Hyuck, I'm the fucking best." Doyoung laughed louder, making Donghyuck roll his eyes.

"Whatever."

"Make sure to bring the file this time!"

"Fuck off, Doyoung!"

_"Oww, get back here Donghyuck — yah fucker!"_

~~~~~~~~~~~

Donghyuck and Doyoung pulled up into a driveway. The house in front of them was huge; almost like a mansion. One of those ginormous houses with slick archways and stain glass windows that Donghyuck couldn't imagine paying the price for if some kid accidentally kicked a football into the pictured glass. Donghyuck's mouth fell open.

"Honey, shut your mouth. You're going to catch a fly one of these days." Doyoung teased, opening the door and climbing out, Donghyuck scrambling after him with a scowl, shoving his silver hair out of his eyes.

"Don't call me honey again, Kim Doyoung, or you'll have a bullet in your leg." Donghyuck threatened, climbing the steps before knocking on the brass door, the golden edges glinting mockingly at them in the sun.

"Fine, I'll just call you darling instead. How does that sound, darling?"

"Like absolute fucking garbage, Kim. Don't even think of saying what I think you're going to say."

"You can't hurt me, Donghyuck."

"Watch me, Doyoung." The door flew open, revealing a slightly dishevelled male with brown hair and whitish highlights. Donghyuck could personally say that the person in front of them was rocking the hairstyle and both his outfit — the dude was hot overall.

"Nakamota Yuta?" Doyoung asked and the male stared at them for a moment before nodding, confused. Donghyuck noticed that he tilted his head to the side when he was confused or curious.

"May we come in?" Yuta nodded, opening the door slightly wider for them to enter.

"Great." Donghyuck chirped, slipping underneath Yura's arm and glancing around the huge hall. It was normal, but bare with white walls and three pictures hung on the wall. Despite the fact that it was a huge house, Donghyuck had the feeling barely anyone used the space they were given.

"Hey, what are you..." Yuta trailed off for a moment before gasping. "You're cops, aren't you?" Yuta whispered and Donghyuck snorted, Doyoung sending him a rather unhidden look of warning.

"Duh, why the hell else would we knock on your door asking you to come in. Do we look like gang members, huh?" Donghyuck demanded with a raised eyebrow. Yuta examined him.

"No, you don't." He finally sighed, making Donghyuck scoffed.

"Glad that we're on the same page now." Donghyuck murmured, watching Yuta shuffle uncomfortably. "Oh, is Yukhei and Jungwoo here? I quite enjoyed talking to them last time." Donghyuck mused. Yuta shook his head.

"They're in a meeting upstairs on the second floor. They're busy right now dealing with important matters, so no I don't think you'd be able to talk with them." Yuta said. Donghyuck sighed.

"Shame. I'd taken a liking to the couple."

"You know they're together?" Yuta seemed shocked.

"Yeah," Donghyuck laughed before grimacing. "Do you mind if I use your bathroom?" Donghyuck asked. "I had a lot to drink on the way here and man, when you need to go you need to go." Donghyuck pressed, making Yuta chuckle.

"Gross," Doyoung said at the same time as Yuta said;

"Second floor, third room on the left." Donghyuck nodding, sending Doyoung a wink before turning around and waltzing up the stairs, calling a _thank you_ down to Yuta. Donghyuck climbed up the stairs with a smirk, slipping into the second-floor hallway and walking forward until he heard a noise in the fourth door. He placed his ear to the wood.

"Kim Doyoung and his little kid are suspicious, I'm telling you!"

"Yeah, they know more than they're supposed too!"

"Shut it, both of you. Kim Doyoung and the other kid are police officers and detectives trying to solve a case of one of Lucas's dead ex's. Of course, it was going to tie back to Yukhei."

"But ... the kid is... he's super smart and observant. It was like he knew everything about us."

"It was like he recognized us the moment he saw us."

"It was plain creepy!"

"But, he was nice; he saw that we were together. He was... he accepted us — they both did — and they... they didn't press charges for Yukhei trying to hit the younger."

"That's because the kid put a gun to Lucas's throat."

"I shouldn't have attacked him." Donghyuck recognized Yukhei's loud voice that was unusually quiet like he was being scolded. Donghyuck heard Yuta's shout of realization on what Donghyuck was doing and Donghyuck decided it was time to make his entrance. He twisted the doorknob and opened the door.

"Yuta now is not the time ~"

"What is it with you gang members that keep on mistaking me for lovers?" Donghyuck chuckled incredulously, leaning on the doorframe as a sense of deja vu hit him full force. He smirked against the itching in the back of his throat.

"Donghyuck?!" Jungwoo gasped, jerking to his feet as he stared at Donghyuck with surprise written all over his face. Donghyuck laughed.

"Hello, Jungwoo... Yukhei or should I call you Lucas?" Donghyuck asked, hearing Yuta's pounding footsteps as he ran down the hall, sliding to the side as Yuta barrelled through the door, intent on punching him through his rage of the younger not listening to him. Yuta spun around.

"You... you, I told you not to interfere with our matters!" He yelled. Donghyuck's eyes darkened until they looked almost black.

"Don't talk to me like that, Nakamota," Donghyuck said, deathly calm. Yuta charged at him. Donghyuck grabbed his outstretched hand, flipping it backwards and flipping Yuta through the air, body smacking on the floor with a thump. "I warned you, asshat." Donghyuck snarled and was about to punch the man in the nose when Doyoung chose that moment to enter, stepping over Yuta's outstretched legs. He glanced at Donghyuck then chuckled.

"Come on, Hyuck, get up off the poor guy. I've had enough complaints for one year." Doyoung muttered, making Donghyuck blink at Doyoung. Donghyuck then looked down at Yuta and sneered teasingly.

"You're lucky my partner was here to stop me, Nakamota or your beautiful face would've been smashed in like the pancakes Doyoung bakes — fuck, what was that for?" Donghyuck demanded, straightening up and rubbing the back of his head that Doyoung had smacked.

"In no way, shape or form, are you insulting my cooking, Lee Donghyuck, I practically raised you." Doyoung scowled. Donghyuck giggled as Yuta scrambled to his feet and retreated to a male with black hair.

"Actually, that was Jaehyun, but ~"

"Wait a minute! Kim Doyoung and Lee Donghyuck? The two officers that interviewed Yukhei and Jungwoo, right?" The same black-haired male asked. Doyoung nodded.

"You know us?" He asked and Yukhei chuckled.

"Of course they know you; they did a little bit of digging into you files when you interviewed us just to see if you were a threat. But, you weren't. You two have been top of the department for ages." Yukhei said in awe. Doyoung nodded again.

"Donghyuck's the youngest detective in over two centuries." He said proudly, seeing Donghyuck's ears go pink. He stifled a laugh at the youngers reaction.

"Yeah, I know," Jungwoo said before turning to Yukhei. "Boss should be here in a minute, right? Along with Lee?" Jungwoo asked and Yukhei nodded, glancing at Donghyuck.

"This is going to be the best thing I'm ever going to see in my twenty years of living. Did you get popcorn?" Yukhei whispered to Jungwoo, who giggled, shaking his head. Yukhei pouted.

The door slammed open at that moment and two males strode inside, one with cherry red hair and the other with black hair, both looking very familiar to Donghyuck. He felt his stomach lurch, mind blanching at the two males.

"Hyung's! We have guests!" Yukhei shouted and the two turned to the new duo. They both blinked in surprise.

"Lee Donghyuck?" They both asked simultaneously and Doyoung glanced between the three, eyebrows pulling together in confusion.

"Hyuck, what's... who are they?" Doyoung whispered, watching Donghyuck pale and clutch at his arm. "Donghyuck?" Doyoung hissed. Donghyuck jerked into reality again and exhaled a shaky breath.

"These two are Mark Lee and Lee Taeyong." Donghyuck introduced, palms beginning to get clammy.

"As in..." Doyoung trailed off, seeing Donghyuck nod in the corner of his eye. His mouth dropped open at the information.

"Yes, Doyoung. Mark Lee as in my ex-boyfriend and Lee Taeyong as in my brother." Shocked gasps ran through the room and Donghyuck looked at Doyoung with a hard look. "We have to finish this investigation, Doyoung." He whispered.

"No, Haechan," Doyoung said, firmly, seeing Donghyuck sag at the name. "No, you're not ready for this. Any of this at the moment. You just — you just healed." Doyoung said, sadly and Donghyuck straightened.

"I'm strong."

"I have no doubt about that, but I'm fucking worried about you," Doyoung said, trying to convince the younger that learning some useless wasn't worth risking his sanity for. Donghyuck stared at Doyoung, irises darkening.

"Jaehyun put me on this case, Doyoung, and not even a body bag will stop me from carrying on with this investigation. I'm where I am for a reason ~"

"Yeah, because you risk you fucking risk your life twenty for seven, Haechan!" Doyoung shouted. "You used to be fine and in control, before Jaemin died ~"

"Do not bring Jaemin into this, Doyoung," Donghyuck warned, watching Doyoung roll his eyes.

"When are you going to get over Jaemin's death, Donghyuck? It's been over a year and you're still obsessing over who killed him; you wouldn't even fucking come out of your office for weeks just because you thought you were close to solving the murder! Not everything is so perfect, Donghyuck, miracles don't just randomly turn up in a haystack and if you knew that, you'd take a breather on this." Doyoung said. Donghyuck glared at him.

"I trusted you, Kim Doyoung ~"

"Sometimes you have to break trust for someone you care about, Hyuck. Jaehyun and I watched you grow up; saw that little ten-year-old sitting in the police station bruised and covered in his parent's blood. I saw you flitter from foster home to foster home, foster family to foster family; saw you one moment and then you were being shipped off to somewhere else the next.

I saw the empty look in your eyes when you returned from that stake out that you, Jaemin and Jaehyun were supposed to be on; saw how you broke when only two of you came back alive. You were covered in blood again and my mind automatically went back to that police station; you didn't cry though, ever, both of those times you didn't cry. It — it was like nothing had even happened. Like Jaemin had never happened.

Please, Donghyuck, I'm asking — no begging you to go take a breather or even have a small hiatus to clear your head. For me, for Jaehyun, for yourself and for Jaemin ~" Doyoung choked as he was slammed against the wall by Donghyuck, his eyes darkening at Doyoung's words.

"Never, ever mention Jaemin's name again, Kim Doyoung. You raised me, but Jaemin was my best friend — my brother. More so than the other one in the room." Donghyuck jabbed at Taeyong, who flinched. "Jaemin was my partner, Doyoung, ever wonder why I went solo until you turned up?" Donghyuck demanded. Doyoung raised an eyebrow.

"Because you had to get a partner that would stop you from beating the shit out the criminals before you even got them in a holding cell?" Doyoung asked and Donghyuck stared at him for a moment before throwing his head back and laughing without humour; it sounded crazed and devoid of life.

"No, as much as the higher-ups liked to put it. Jaehyun told me that I was risking my life too much — called it Cop Suicide because after what happened with Jaemin, I threw myself in front of guns, tackled men with knives and ran right into an area made for a bomb to explode. Wasn't exactly now, was it? And he especially wanted me to have some type of surveillance after I told him my life mission." Donghyuck said with a chuckle, letting go of Doyoung, who wrinkled his nose in distaste and straightened his clothes.

"You really are a nineteen-year-old kid, Lee Haechan, but what is your life mission exactly?" Doyoung questioned, seeing Donghyuck smirk evilly, turning to face Lee Taeyong.

"Why, Doyoung, to take down NCT and kill Lee Taeyong; their Boss!" He chirped, oblivious to the gaping faces of the rest of the mafia gang.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> School work is … sad :(  
> But, like Bangchan said; we have to stop procrastinating and school work is on the top of my list for things to stop procrastinating on, lmao. And right underneath that is my stories.  
> Anyway, on a completely unrelated note, how has your day been so far?

_April, 9th, 2020_

Donghyuck ignored the way Doyoung was staring at him from across the kitchen, resulting to finishing the ramen he had chosen to make. He used the kitchen like it was his own home, using chopsticks to stir the ramen and place it in two bowls. One for Doyoung and one for himself. 

"Hyuck." Doyoung murmured, softly and Donghyuck ignored him for a moment, placing Doyoung's bowl in front of the latter and handing him a pair of chopsticks. "I get it, I do ~" 

"No, you don't Doyoung." Donghyuck interrupted, staring down at his ramen and harshly stabbing the noodles as if the ramen was the cause of all his problems. "That male over their abandoned me in my time of need and nothing — not even you procrastinating over talking me out of reasoning with myself will convince me otherwise." He said. Doyoung shrugged. 

"I was just going to say that you should try and put this time behind you. If not about your past with Taeyong, then your past with Mark. From what I've seen so far that kid is alright — save the gang part of his life, but nobodies perfect." Doyoung joked, yet Donghyuck wasn't having any of it and sighed. 

"Whatever, Do, I can't just put what happened behind me." Donghyuck muttered making Doyoung chuckle.

"I'm asking you to try, Hyuck, not force yourself." He said, beginning to twirl the ramen and bringing it to his mouth. Donghyuck was about to do the same when his phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket, getting to his feet.

"It's Jaehyun." Donghyuck told his partner and Doyoung waved him away. Donghyuck proceeded to answer the phone and walk out of hearing range, so that no one could hear half of their conversation — not even Doyoung. He knew his boundaries. 

"Hey, Hyuckie, how's the investigation going? Doyoung told me about Taeyong." Jaehyun said and Donghyuck was grateful that that was all Doyoung had told the elder. He didn't know if he could take a worried Captain after he had seen both his ex and brother. 

"It's going alright, hyung. At least they let us eat here; Doyoung's pratically inhaling his food right now." Donghyuck rolled his eyes. Jaehyun forced a laugh. 

"Listen, Hyuck, I ... I don't think you should work this case." Jaehyun whispered and Donghyuck's mouth fell open. Was Jaehyun really kicking him off his investigation?

"Jaehyun, I'm fine!" Donghyuck protested, harshly. "Whatever you think is going on, I'm positive that it has nothing to do with my past. This day has just been a long one and the case is ... there's not much leads and whether I like it or not, it always seems to lead me back to NCT." Donghyuck explained, listening to Jaehyun's rugged breathing. He heard a russle and looked to his side at the door. 

"Okay, okay, I'm going to trust you on this, but anything goes wrong or becomes too overwhelming — if there's anything in here about your past, you're off the case straight away. No retorts or protests, okay?" Donghyuck hummed in confirmation. "Now go solve this case. Love you, Hyuck."

"Love you too, hyung." Donghyuck smiled and Jaehyun hung up. Donghyuck put his phone back into his pocket before staring at the door for a moment. When he heard another russle like someone had been leaning in to listen to his conversation, Donghyuck kicked the door with all the strength he had, making the door slam inwards. A boy scrambled back before it could connect with his head — he was young with black hair and blondish highlights like Yuta had.

"You were listening in on my conversation," Donghyuck stated in a growl, stalking towards the boy who scrambled back in fear, his eyes wide as he stared at Donghyuck. "My personal life is private and if you ever utter a word of what you've heard, kid, you'll find out why they call me Lee Taeyong's brother." Donghyuck grinned devilishly. "Got it?" 

The boy nodded frantically. "Y-Yes, g-got it." He stuttered and Donghyuck nodded to himself, turning and exiting the room. He made his way back to Doyoung and sat down, settling into his meal. 

~~~~~~~~~~

"I believe you have questions, Hyuck ~"

"Don't call me that." Donghyuck interrupted from where he was seated on the sofa, legs folded and eyes calculating as he explored the room. Doyoung was seated next to him and when Taeyong addressed Donghyuck, he tensed lightly.

"If you wouldn't mind, Taeyong-ssi, I was wondering if all of your ... gang could participate in this as they've all got to have met her, right?" Doyoung asked and Taeyong examined him before a smirk spread across his face. 

"Why, of course, Doyoung-ssi. I'm sure we would all be happy to participate in this investigation." He said, clearing his throat. He shouted for the others and soon, people were crowding into the room; Donghyuck felt his heartbeat pick up when a certain blonde haired male entered the room last. 

"Ask your questions as you wish." Donghyuck glared at Taeyong talking sweetly. His brother hadn't changed a bit and when his eyes fell onto Donghyuck, the intense gaze Donghyuck remembered was back. "I know I want to catch up with certain individuals." Taeyong said. Donghyuck snorted. 

"Well, it seems like the feelings are not mutual, Lee." Donghyuck told him, revelling in the way Taeyong's lip twitched into a frown. A crease appeared between his eyebrows. 

"Um," Doyoung interrupted, watching Donghyuck and Taeyong cautiously as if they were dynamite about to explode. "About those questions — I wanted to know if any of you knew Stacey and were at least friendly with her apart from Yukhei and Jungwoo." He said, adressing the others in the room. The boy Donghyuck had threatened blinked and raised his hand. 

"I — I knew her quite well ... she was my sister's best friend." He said, making Doyoung lean forward in his seat. 

"What's your name?" Doyoung asked and the male gulped, glancing to Taeyong, who gave a soft curt nod.

"I'm Park Jisung. My sister's Park Jihyo. I ... Stacey was always kind to me; my sister and her grew up together and that was how Yukhei and her met. Through me. I figured that this could be a way for Yukhei and Jungwoo to not be ... to not have to ..." He stopped and sniffled, tears had begun to fall from his eyes and down his cheeks. 

Doyoung sighed. "You remind me of a young Donghyuck." Doyoung laughed, making Donghyuck glare at him with fake fire. "He would do anything for the people he cares about and never says when he's hurting ~"

"That's because I'm not. I'm fine." Donghyuck said, exasperatedly and Doyoung chuckled, rolling his eyes.

"See what I mean?" Doyoung asked. Before Donghyuck could answer, his phone rang and Donghyuck dug through his pockets, quickly answering the device. 

"Hello?" He asked, getting up and jumping over the back of the sofa. He was about to walk out the door when his footsteps faltered. "What?" He whispered after the news had been broken to him. 

"Yes, Donghyuck, Chen Le's been shot." Jaehyun said. Donghyuck finally heard the machines beeping and rushed footsteps and voices. 

"Is it bad?" Donghyuck asked and when Jaehyun didn't answer, he growled lowly. "For fuck's sake, Jung Jaehyun, answer me. Is he going to die?" Donghyuck demanded, voice raising with every word. Jaehyun harshly inhaled. 

"It's a 50/50 chance, Hyuck. You ... just continue on with your investigation. You can't do anything sitting in a waiting room, anyways. Chen Le's shooting is connected with Stacey's murder, Hyuck, I know it." Jaehyun told him and Donghyuck crouched down, knees unable to hold himself up any longer. 

"Jaehyun ... what if Jaemin's death is connected to this too?" Donghyuck asked and Jaehyun sighed.

"Jaemin's death is not connected to this, Donghyuck. And if you would stop obsessing over that then you'd solve this case quicker." 

"Jaehyun ~" But, Jaehyun had already hung up and Donghyuck cursed, straightening up and turning around to see that everyone was looking at him. Donghyuck walked to Doyoung and leaned down, whispering the news. 

"Chen Le? Eighteen year old Chen Le? He's not even supposed to be out — he's not even supposed to be on the field." Doyoung murmured and Donghyuck jumped back onto the sofa. 

"Yeah. They don't even know if he's going to survive." Donghyuck told the black haired male, his fingers starting to twiddle together. "God, I was supposed to be there, training him today, Do, what ... he's so young ..." Donghyuck murmured and Doyoung shot him a glance filled with worry. 

"If you want to step out for a moment; you're more than obligated too, Hyuck." Doyoung said and Donghyuck waved the concern away with a small, tight smile. 

"Let's just finish this interrogation or whatever the fuck people call it these days." Donghyuck said, lowly and turned his attention back to the rest of the gang. His eyes caught onto a familiar figure lingering at the back of the room, his eyes fixated on Donghyuck like he was hiding something. Donghyuck recognized his face because he had almost been kidnapped/murdered by the male all those years ago. 

Back when Jaemin was still alive and breathing. 

"You." Donghyuck breathed, referring to the boy at the back. The male in question blinked at Donghyuck and then his eyes were narrowing into slits. 

"Me?" He asked as soon as Taeyong started to speak:

"Jeno?" He demanded, shooting a glance at Jeno. "He couldn't have done it, Hyuck ~" At the sharp glare Donghyuck gave the elder, the latter held his hands up in defeat. "Detective Lee, he couldn't have done it since he was here all night, running through some paper work." Taeyong explained and Donghyuck watched the way Taeyong's features shifted and knew, despite how much he hated it, that Taeyong was telling the truth. 

"He's not lying." Donghyuck muttered into Doyoung's ear and saw the latter nod, eyes fixated on Jisung, who was wiping his face and blinking rapidly like he was holding back more tears. 

"What about Nakamota Yuta?" Donghyuck redirected his attention to Yuta, who was standing off to the left, arm around a boy just a few inches taller than Donghyuck. "Where were you the night Stacey was murder?" He asked, tilting his head. Yuta blinked at the younger. 

"If you're accusing me, rat ~"

Donghyuck laughed harshly. "Rethink what you're going to say, Nakamota. You insult a cop and I take you to the precinct ~ I know after this day, Jaehyun will be ecstatic to see a fugitive from NCT walking into his prison cells. So, rethink what you're going to say." He growled. Yuta's face twisted and Donghyuck could see the slight flicker of fear flashing in his eyes. 

"Whatever." He grumbled. "I was with a friend at the park." He muttered and Donghyuck glanced at Doyoung's tensed form. 

"Can anyone verify this, Mr Nakamota?" Donghyuck asked and Yuta shrugged. 

"I don't know, do I? You're the fucking police, go and fiddle with our personal lives a little more and surely you'll find what you're looking for!" Yuta spat. Donghyuck saw Doyoung wince in his peripheral vision, out of the corner of his eye and felt his features hardened. 

"That's two strikes now, Nakamota, one more and I'm charging you with murder." Donghyuck warned and a shout of protest was heard before Taeyong was holding his hand up. The noise immediately died down. 

"What do you mean murder?" Taeyong asked and Donghyuck leaned backwards, shoulders relaxing. This is what he did best — getting into the heads of the people he was interrogating and getting them to spill all the information they knew about his victim. 

"Well, Lee, your ... gang member's fingerprints were on the victim's neck. Funny isn't it, hmm? How could your fingerprints possibly get onto the victims body?" Donghyuck questioned Yuta, eyebrows raising. Yuta glared at him. 

"I didn't touch the girl!" He exclaimed and Donghyuck got to his feet, eyes staring Yuta down.

"Here's what I think happened, Nakamota Yuta — I think you followed her into her apartment; I think you couldn't deal with the fact that she might spill things about the people you care about. She was going to snitch — heaven knows what that could do to these guys." Donghyuck said, carefully watching Yuta's reactions. "I think that Stacey was going to start afresh: no drugs, no theft, nothing illegal, but see, Stacey had a guilty conscience — you knew this, so you followed her and then you killed her." Donghyuck said, voice rising with everyday syllable. 

"I didn't kill the damn girl! I didn't even fucking know her!" Yuta shouted. Donghyuck slammed his hands onto the table and glared icily at Yuta. 

"Really? We have forensic evidence that proves otherwise. So, tell me, Nakamota, do you really want to lie to me again or are you going to finally tell me what's really going on?" Donghyuck demanded, voice turning scarily serious and low. Yuta's eyebrow twitched. 

"Okay!" Yuta suddenly yelled after moments of painful eye contact with Donghyuck. "She kissed me! I put my hands on her neck and shoved her away. But, she isn't as innocent as she made out to be, okay? She stole my key card." Yuta whispered and Donghyuck's gaze lingered on Yuta for a moment longer. 

"What hotel?" Donghyuck asked and Yuta sighed. 

"Seoul Plaza." Yuta muttered. 

"And does this key card open all the rooms?" Donghyuck demanded, watching Yuta nod. Donghyuck spun around to face Doyoung, who's expression was emotionless. 

"Donghyuck — Jaehyun just texted me ... Chen Le's heart stopped." He whispered and Donghyuck's knees felt weak, the previous excitement fading away to terror.

"And? That's it? He's dead?" Donghyuck whispered. Relief flooded through him when Doyoung shook his head. 

"His heart failed in surgery, but they managed to get it beating again and he's going to be alright." Doyoung murmured, getting to his feet and catching Donghyuck when his legs gave up. 

"Oh, thank god." He whispered. He felt Doyoung kiss the crown of his head before Doyoung was turning to Taeyong and making a stupid excuse that they had to leave. Taeyong waved them goodbye and they shakily made their way out of the house and into Doyoung's car. 

"He's going to be fine, Donghyuck." Doyoung reassured and Donghyuck could only close his eyes in relief; glad none of his other friends had to die from being shot on duty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If there is any grammatical mistakes, I'm sorry. Grammars totally not my strong suit and I'm literally terrible at it.  
> Stay safe!!!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update!

_April, 10th, 2020_

Donghyuck slammed the door shut and made his way into the precinct, seeing males and females alike bow down at the sight of him. He was well-respected and had solved more cases than over half the detectives at the precinct that had been going for three years.

He met up with Doyoung, saying his thanks when Doyoung handed him his usual coffee. He hadn't been sleeping well and the hot coffee in the morning from a friendly face really helped calm his tiredness. Doyoung tried to hide his look of concern as he ruffled the younger's hair.

"Jaehyun wants us to meet him in his office." Doyoung said and Donghyuck nodded tiredly. Doyoung strung an arm around his friend's shoulder and they both walked to Jaehyun's office, Doyoung knocking once before they got confirmation to come in. 

Donghyuck wasn't expecting to see two familiar faces so early in the morning and he groaned, turning to leave. 

"Get back here, Hyuckie." Donghyuck groaned again and turned back around, giving a death look to Jaehyun, who waved the duo closer. Doyoung seemed just as confused as Donghyuck was when Jaehyun introduced the four to each other. "Although you already know this." Jaehyun muttered before his face fell into a serious look. 

"I need to know that none of your men are behind this, Lee." Jaehyun said and Taeyong gave him a bored look as Mark stayed silent, eyes fixated on Donghyuck. There was a curiosity there and awe just like Donghyuck remembered the first time they had met. Donghyuck avoided the males gaze. "As you know, Hyuck has a past with you and that can jeopardize this mission and favour I'm asking you of ~"

"Favour?" Doyoung and Donghyuck interrupted at the same time and Jaehyun sent them a look. 

"Yes, favour. As you know, Chen Le — one of my officers — was shot and he almost died, so I want — no need you guys to help us; team up with Doyoung and Donghyuck and find those that put Chen Le's life in danger. As for Chen Le and Donghyuck ... I'm going to ask you to take him in." Jaehyun said, face twisting in agony. 

The cup in Donghyuck hands fell out of his grasp and it slammed against the floor, coffee bursting out the top. "What?!?" Donghyuck shouted, eyes going wide. "Jaehyun — we — you ~" Donghyuck choked off, unable to speak at the betrayal he felt running through his veins. 

"Donghyuck, listen to me — you're in danger. Danger! I let Jaemin die and I'm sure as hell not going to let you die too." Jaehyun said, loudly and Donghyuck fell quiet and was about to take a step forward when Doyoung caught his arm. 

"Hear him out, Haechan." Doyoung said, eyes filled with an unknown light. "Hear what he has to say before bursting out on him." 

"Fine." Donghyuck grumbled, gesturing for Jaehyun to continue although rather hesitantly.

"There's a bounty on your head, Donghyuck and the safest place for you to be right now is with NCT. I know — I know that it doesn't make sense, but NCT are trained, experienced people despite what they do and if you do managed to get hurt, they have their own medical facility, so nothing will get logged in. As soon as someone knows that you've gone to hospital with a gun shot wound or a stab slash, they'll know they're one step closer to killing you and claiming their money." Jaehyun said, watching Donghyuck's wary face. 

"You're connected way deeper in this than you know, Donghyuck. There's people looking for you, Hyuck and what happened to Chen Le is only the start of things. Soon it'll be Doyoung or me or Kun." Jaehyun said, eyes saddening. "You won't be alone — I'm asking Doyoung to stay with you and Chen Le too. He needs to lay low — you all do." Jaehyun said, getting to his feet and approaching Donghyuck, stepping over the spilt coffee. 

"You're like my younger brother, Donghyuck, you getting hurt like Jaemin did will kill me even more than Jaemin's death did." Jaehyun whispered, pulling Donghyuck into a tight bear hug and almost crushing his ribcage, but Donghyuck didn't mind; rather hugged back just as tight.

"I'm sorry, hyung, I'm sorry for doubting you and your intentions." Donghyuck choked against the scratchy feeling at the back of his throat. 

"There's nothing to apologize for, Hyuck. I totally get what was running through your mind, but you have to do this to stay safe. You're not running, but hiding and biding your time." Jaehyun smiled fondly and leaned backwards, pushing Donghyuck's bangs back and kissing his forehead. "Taeyong-ssi and Mark-ssi are going to escort you to their house and the other members are going to get all your belongings." Jaehyun explained and Donghyuck nodded despite the heavy feeling in his chest. 

"Okay, hyung." He murmured and Jaehyun pulled him into one more tight hug before Doyoung was pulling him away and out the door, the gang duo following closely behind. They gained a few strange looks, but before they could exit the precinct, a boy ran up to them, panting. 

"Detective Lee, you need to see something." He said and Donghyuck glanced at Doyoung, who pursed his lips. After a moment, he gave in and they walked to Donghyuck's desk, the officer that had approached him typing something into the computer before a video took up the screen. 

It looked like a duo were talking in hushed voices in an alleyway. Donghyuck didn't see anything strange and was about to point it out to the male, when he shushed them and pointed to the screen. 

"Look." He whispered and another figure appeared, reaching into his jacket before pulling out a gun and shooting the two males square in the forehead. They were both dead before they even hit the floor. Donghyuck leaned closer and watched as the male turned and faced the camera. The male paused the screen and turned the volume up higher. 

He pressed play. 

"Detective Lee!" The male shouted in a maddening state of insanity. "We meet again after so long! I believe that the last time we met, I was dying, isn't that right? On that hospital bed?" He asked the camera and Donghyuck glared at the screen. It was true he had thought the criminal was dead and that was why he had evaded the capture and had killed two armed guards in the precinct. In simple terms: he was a psycho and a serial killer — the cops weren't his only victims. 

"I thought you were the youngest and smartest detective in the city!" He mocked and Donghyuck remained emotionless as he watched the male raise the gun. "Seems like all the rumours were false; you really are the street rat people think you are. See you in the afterlife, Detective Lee." And then he shot the camera, the lens breaking and cutting off all contact. Donghyuck straightened. 

"Should I tell Jaehyun or ..?" Donghyuck shook his head, interrupting the male. 

"No, Detective Yang. He already knows. Just send a copy to the FBI; they've been looking for this guy for years and to know he's actually alive, means that more lives are in danger than we care to admit." Donghyuck told the male, who nodded and bowed, quickly rushing away.

"Come on." Doyoung whispered and dragged Donghyuck down the precinct halls, the two gang members silent behind them. 

~~~~~~~~~~

"Your friends are already inside by the way." Taeyong muttered as he pulled up into the driveway and the four climbed out of the car. Donghyuck nodded, but didn't make any other move of acknowledging the elder.

"Alright." Donghyuck whispered, internally cringing at the awkwardness in the air. It wasn't like how the atmosphere would be in Donghyuck's home when he had his friends over; this was like the feeling of an itch you cannot scratch. It was irritable and annoying.

They entered the house and Donghyuck barely stole a glance around the room before a body was barrelling into him. Donghyuck blinked down at the mop of blonde hair and gasped, pulling the male closer and closing his eyes. 

"Hyung." Chen Le cried, and Donghyuck felt warm liquid seep into his shoulder, the younger boy seeming to be finally letting loose. Donghyuck sighed and picked the boy up, Chen Le's small legs wrapping around his waist — it was almost like he was carrying a small child. One that had gone through a huge trauma. 

"Oh, baby." Donghyuck murmured, kissing his hair and Doyoung smiled softly at the duo. Taeyong gestured for them to follow them into the living room and they obeyed silently, Chen Le's small frame shaking from his silent cries. In the living room, Donghyuck saw that Taeyong had gathered the whole gang to announce the news. 

"What the hell is he doing here?" Yuta shouted and Chen Le jumped at the loud voice, head darting up. Donghyuck saw his tear lined cheeks and puffy eyes and his heart broke in two at the normally brave and smiling Chen Le crying and broken. 

"Shh, baby, it's okay." Donghyuck whispered, wiping Chen Le's cheeks with one hand. Chen Le sobbed. 

"They're going to kill me, hyung. They're going to come for me again and they're going to come for you. They — they had — they had ..." Chen Le choked, trailing off and Donghyuck glanced at Doyoung, who shrugged with a frown. 

"What did you see, Le Le?" Donghyuck asked, softly. 

"I ~" Chen Le sniffled and blinked brokenly at Donghyuck. "I saw ... I saw pictures of you; they were tracking you, hyung ... pictures of you sleeping in your house and at crime scenes with Doyoung-hyung. They were — they would toast to your death every night is what they told me." Chen Le whispered and Donghyuck stared at Chen Le for a moment, his face not showing anything of what he was thinking. 

"What else? What were their names, Le Le?" 

"They said it was — it was Operation Octavia. One of them called himself Jiheon and another was ... H-Hyungmin." Chen Le muttered. Donghyuck froze. "Hyung, does it mean something to you? A-Are they going to k-kill you like what happened to my brother?" Chen Le asked and Donghyuck shook his head. 

"No, baby, I won't go down that easy: they'll have to catch me first." Chen Le giggled. "The name's are familiar — both of the names and the Operation." Donghyuck murmured, worriedly, eyebrows creasing just like Taeyong's had done a day ago; the others in the room being surprised with the resemblance that they saw. Doyoung shook his head. 

"Just leave it for today, Hyuck. Chen Le doesn't need 'worried hyung' yet." Doyoung said and Donghyuck stared fondly at Chen Le and then nodded. 

"Come on, I'll take you to the kitchen; you shouldn't hear the run down of things ~"

"I'm old enough. I'm older than you when you heard all this dark shit ~"

"Language." Donghyuck stated, sternly and Chen Le stuck his tongue out, which Donghyuck gladly returned making Doyoung sigh. "Come on, let go of my waist." Donghyuck said and Chen Le let go, falling onto his feet and then he doubled over in pain, gasping for air. 

"Chen Le?" Doyoung asked, appearing by Chen Le's side, the duo noticing that Chen Le shirt was beginning to get bloody again. 

"He must've popped open his stitches," Donghyuck said, glancing at Doyoung. "You stay here and I'll get Chen Le to the medical room — somewhere in this house — and fix his stitches. You do the run down with the others, okay?" Donghyuck demanded and Doyoung nodded. Donghyuck swooped Chen Le up into his arms and was about to exit the room when a familiar voice held him back. 

"Are you sure you know how to stitch someone up?" Mark; it was Mark Lee speaking. Donghyuck froze. 

"I'm different to how I was when we were acquainted, Mark. I stitch myself up all the time — I've had plenty of pratice." Donghyuck snapped. Doyoung shook his head. 

"Whatever, brat, the medical rooms on the first floor, exit this room and turn left. You go down three doors and the fourth doors the infirmary." Donghyuck left without a second thought, the back of his throat burning at the insult thrown his way — the insult was one thrown constantly at him when he was in school and had been dating Mark; he was actually the one that had told him that whatever they said didn't mean anything and it shouldn't effect Donghyuck. 

It seemed hypocritical to throw it back in Donghyuck's face in the present time. 


	6. Chapter 6

_April, 12th, 2020_

For two days straight, Donghyuck only came out of his assigned room for food and training with Doyoung. Chen Le had been constantly resting and ever since that slight slip up the previous day, Donghyuck had removed himself from seeing Chen Le's recovery process. 

Instead, he dedicated himself to finding out what exactly was going on. The serial killer, Stacey's murder, Chen Le being shot and NCT's involvement in the matter. Donghyuck thought that NCT was an easy target to frame as everyone knew that they had been looking for any evidence to put the gang away for life — this was the perfect opportunity. 

"Hello? This is Seoul Plaza; would you like to make a reservation for a room?" A soft voice asked from the other end of the phone Donghyuck was holding. Donghyuck blinked at the wall. 

"Er, no thank you," Donghyuck said and he heard a sigh. "I was actually wondering if anyone has used Mr Nakamota's key on April 3rd or 4th. I'm investigating a murder and we're missing some details, so it would be very helpful if you could tell me if his key card was used." Donghyuck stated, waiting for an answer.

"Um, wait just a moment." Donghyuck waited and waited until finally he heard belated breathing on the other line and another sigh. 

"I'm afraid you'll have to get a warrant for that, sir." And then he hung up and Donghyuck threw his phone on the bed. A warrant would take ages and Jaehyun had basically forbidden him from leaving NCT's house while he was still in danger; he would never be able to go and find clues. All of this was about him, but he couldn't do anything.

Donghyuck opened the door, blinking his exhaustion away. He had barely slept the last two days; staying up all night to see if he could find anything useful, but all of it had been in vain because nothing even remotely helpful had come up. When the smell of food hit his nose, Donghyuck began walking to the kitchen, stumbling a little on a way because of a slippery floorboard. 

He cursed the floorboard, darting into the kitchen and being met with the sight of Doyoung, Chen Le and the rest of the gang. 

"Oh, hey Donghyuck — have you been sleeping?" Doyoung demanded, getting up and coming to inspect Donghyuck's face and the huge eyebags underneath his eyes. Donghyuck swatted Doyoung's hands away and slumped into one of the seats at the table, not sparing a glance to the other members of NCT. 

"I'm fine; I just was looking into things. I called Seoul Plaza, but they said I'd have to get a warrant to know if the key card was used. I'm assuming they don't want to admit that they had a security breach as it's bad for business." Donghyuck explained, rubbing his eyes. Doyoung watched him carefully. 

"What else have you been doing?" Doyoung demanded and Donghyuck opened one eye to steal a glance at Doyoung's face before letting his eye fall shut.

"Training; fighting." Donghyuck muttered, hearing Chen Le's groan across the table. Donghyuck ignored them and tuned out Doyoung's scolding. He lowered his head to the table and felt relief at the cold surface shocking some tiredness away. 

"You can't keep doing this." Was the last thing Donghyuck heard Doyoung say before Doyoung's phone was ringing and the male was answering it with a small glare in Donghyuck's direction. Donghyuck's eyes peeled open when Doyoung started speaking into the phone. 

"Hello — oh, hi, Jaehyun — no, he's here — speaker? Are you sure? — well, alright." Donghyuck lifted his head as Doyoung put the phone on speaker and put the device on the table. 

"Lee Donghyuck." Jaehyun scowled and Donghyuck stared at the phone for a moment before rolling his eyes. 

"Yes?" He asked. The room had gone deathly silent, only the sizzling of meat on the pan being the only noise left in the room.

"You are in heaps of trouble. What the fuck did I say about not investigating this case until you are out of danger. I want you to help Chen Le and find his shooter, not go and solve the huge case first! The person that killed Stacey is far more powerful than the person that shot Chen Le!" Jaehyun shouted and Donghyuck blinked at the phone. 

"You want me to give up? Jaehyun, this is my case! You can't just ask me to stop investigating it and whether or not, I'm in danger, I'm not letting this killer go free." 

"Donghyuck." Jaehyun warned, lowly. 

"No, Jaehyun, I'm doing this with or without your permission." Donghyuck stated, firmly and Jaehyun exhaled slowly.

"Fine. If you get yourself killed, don't say I didn't tell you so." Jaehyun muttered. "I'm not about to stick around and watch you kill yourself for getting information you could get in about a week or so." Jaehyun said and Donghyuck sneered at the phone, some of his anger returning from the previous phone call he had this morning. 

"I'm not asking you to." Donghyuck said, crossing his arms.

~~~~~~~~~~

_April, 15th, 2020_

Donghyuck threw a punch at the bag in front of him, using the anger he had been saving up to beat the living daylights out of the punch bag. A right hook, jab, uppercut; it was all second nature as he threw punch after punch at the bag; he could no longer feel the ache in his knuckles or the slight pain in his lip from biting down too hard. 

A grunt slipped from his lips when he aimed a kick at the middle of the bag, his foot connecting with the harsh rock-like bag. Ignoring the pain, Donghyuck continued his punching; a small sheen of sweat had begun to coat his forehead and back. 

By the time someone came into the room and saw Donghyuck, he was soaked in sweat and no doubt smelt horrible. He was breathing heavily, but aimed another hard punch. His fist connected with the bag with a slam — it filled the air and before Donghyuck could throw another, someone cleared his throat. 

Donghyuck turned around and was met with a boy around his age with brown hair styled to perfection. He had an air of confidence around him when he regarded Donghyuck.

"What do you want?" Donghyuck demanded, taking off his gloves. Ever since the others had got Donghyuck's stuff, he had been using his own gloves; the ones that were slightly tearing and looked years old. It was funny really because as much as Donghyuck hated the guy, the gloves were gifted to him from Taeyong. From ages ago — the male had told him he had gotten them in a larger size, so that he wouldn't have to get new ones as their family was quiet poor and the gloves were expensive ones back then. 

"A guest is here to see you." The boy said. Donghyuck looked up, attention being caught and watched as the boy rolled his eyes, gesturing for Donghyuck to follow. The boy lead him into an unknown room and since Donghyuck didn't have any time to put his gloves away, he clutched them closer to his chest and ignored the other faces in the room. 

The sight he saw had his mouth falling open; in front of him was Kun and Jaehyun; standing and talking to Chen Le and Doyoung like the gang members in the room didn't exist. Donghyuck spotted Mark in the corner of the room, chatting quietly to Taeyong. 

"Jaehyun? Kun?" Donghyuck exclaimed and Kun turned, a smile spreading across his face. Donghyuck grinned wildly and ran to Kun, flinging himself into his friends arms, the said male spinning them around. 

"Hey, Hyuckie." Kun said, softly. "Ten wanted to come too, but he was caught up in the office and well ..." Donghyuck sighed and felt his eyes prickle against his better self. Seeing familiar faces that seemed to far out of reach after 5 days of being cooped up in NCT's house felt overwhelming and so, so good. 

Kun seemed to notice this and panicked, glancing at Jaehyun in shock. Donghyuck barely ever cried and now he was rubbing his eyes and trying not to make eye contact with anyone. It was surprising and shocking to say the least.

"Donghyuck, hey, hey, why are you getting all emotional on me now?" Jaehyun chuckled and it seemed like their little fight had no meaning; it was like it didn't matter. Donghyuck breathed in deeply and tried — he really did try — but it seemed like his tear ducts had a better idea. Before he knew it, tears were falling from his eyes, his head lowered so that no one could see the mess on his face. 

"Oh my god ~" Someone breathed and Jaehyun shot them a hard glare before scooping Donghyuck into his arms and rocking them back and forward. Donghyuck didn't make a sound when he cried, he only shook with sobs: eyes clenched tightly shut and his tears soaking Jaehyun's shoulder. 

"I'm so sorry, hyung." Donghyuck cried. "I'm such a bad influence to Chen Le and Jaemin ~"

"Jaemin dying wasn't your fault, Hyuck ~"

"Yes, it was!" Donghyuck cried, slipping out of Jaehyun's arms and sinking to the floor, bringing his knees to his chest. "It was all my fault — he died because of me, Jaehyun, h-he ... I — all my fault ..." Donghyuck gasped out, lowering his head onto his arms and he cried. He cried his heart out and ignored the others in the room. 

Jaehyun picked up Donghyuck's fallen boxing gloves and Taeyong blinked, mouth falling open in shock. 

"Hyung?" A boy asked Taeyong, drawing everyone's attention to Taeyong who took a step forward and another and then another until he was standing in front of Jaehyun and examining the gloves. 

"These are mine." He breathed. "I gave them to Donghyuck ten years ago when he was ... when he was nine." Taeyong said, carefully taking the gloves from Jaehyun and turning the gloves over. As an extra gift, Taeyong had payed extra money to get the initials L.T and L.D sewn into the fabric, so that whenever Donghyuck used them, he would think of Taeyong. 

Taeyong glanced at Donghyuck. "He kept them?" He asked, hearing Donghyuck's cries stop as well as his shaking and watched as Jaehyun and Doyoung got down and shook Donghyuck. He didn't react and Kun stared at him for a moment. 

"He's asleep." He whispered and Jaehyun glanced at Donghyuck before looking at Taeyong and getting to his feet. 

"You take him to his room." Jaehyun said and Taeyong blinked stupidly at him until Jaehyun made a face. "Did you hear what I said? Are you going to do it before I change my mind or not?" Taeyong shocked out of daze and nodded, not noticing Doyoung get to his feet. 

"Jae, Haechan wouldn't like that." Doyoung said and Taeyong watched as they shared a glance. 

"He won't, Do." Jaehyun agreed. "But, I'm tired of watching him torture himself. The last time he was actually happy was when he was with him." Jaehyun said, pointing to Mark, who's eyes went wide. "Donghyuck's younger than both you and I were when we joined the force. He's the baby of our group, but he always carries more burdens than all of us combined." Jaehyun stated before turning to Taeyong. 

"And you; if you hurt Hyuck again, I will personally make it my mission to put a bullet through your forehead." Jaehyun sneered and Taeyong gulped. His gang members were standing and staring at Jaehyun with shock in their eyes; the way Jaehyun spoke to Taeyong and the way he responded was unfamiliar to all of them.

"I understand." He whispered.


	7. Chapter 7

_April, 15th, 2020_

Once Donghyuck was in the safety of his bed, Taeyong returned back to the unknown room and saw that Jaehyun had made himself comfortable on the small couch in the corner of the room. Chen Le was sitting next to Jaehyun, gripping onto his arm in the way an afraid child would while Doyoung and Kun were standing off to the side. They seemed to be protective over the two, yet Taeyong didn't see the need to be; Jaehyun seemed like he could hold his own and Chen Le would learn that he shouldn't rely on people to solve his own problems. 

Taeyong took a seat next to Mark, who was sitting on the floor. Jeno was on his other side, eyes curious as he stared at the four in front of them — curious to see how their small, complicated family clicked and how Donghyuck fitted into the mix. 

"I assume you are here for more than just Donghyuck, right?" One of Taeyong's members, Johnny, asked, tilting his head to the side. All of Taeyong's members had the same look of curiosity in their eyes — it was the same look they had given Donghyuck when he had walked through the door like he owned the place. In some ways, Jaehyun reminded Taeyong of his younger brother. 

"That's right." Jaehyun said, not bothering to elaborate. Chen Le whispered something into Jaehyun's ear and the male frowned, eyebrows pulling together. "Operation Octavia?" Jaehyun murmured and Doyoung studied their Captain. 

"You know it? Donghyuck also recognized the name." Doyoung said and Jaehyun glanced at the black haired male. He sighed and Chen Le hid his face in Jaehyun's shoulder like it would protect him of what Jaehyun was about to say. 

"Operation Octavia was a huge plan that a very, very wealthy and important man had. Donghyuck was merely sixteen when he heard about it which was around the same time he had gotten kidnapped. Ever since then, the person behind it all has been getting his minions to follow Donghyuck around and find his weak links; they want to kill him." Jaehyun explained and Kun's face contorted. 

"But, why Donghyuck? In what way is he connected to this?" Kun demanded and Jaehyun looked up at the ceiling, hands beginning to shake. 

"Because Donghyuck refused to join their side and ..." Jaehyun shuddered. "The person behind the attack and kidnapping had a son and that son wanted Donghyuck to ... e-er marry him? And when he didn't ... he — oh god, he raped him." Jaehyun whispered, stealing a glance at Doyoung's shell-shocked face. 

"Jaemin was there for him. Donghyuck opened up to him and it was the secondest fastest time he's opened up to someone." Jaehyun said and Chen Le lifted his head. 

"Who was the first, hyung?" Chen Le asked and Jaehyun chuckled, locking eyes with Mark across the room.

"Him." Jaehyun said, nodding at Mark. All eyes went onto Mark, who's mouth had fallen open in shock once again. "Of course, Donghyuck was with Mark before any of the kidnapping and stuff happened, but I've never seen Donghyuck so happy and free before. It was like his shitty past didn't matter and ... I was grateful for that because Donghyuck deserves so much better than this shitty life.

He deserves to be happy and not have to constantly look behind his shoulder. He shouldn't have trust issues and for heaven's sake, Jaemin shouldn't have died right in front of him. We never found his body either. Donghyuck never even got to say a proper goodbye to Nana." Jaehyun muttered and Doyoung sunk to the floor, folding his legs beneath him. Kun followed soon after, legs too tired to hold themselves up. 

"So, Operation Octavia is what exactly? What is the main purpose of it?" Jeno asked and Jaehyun spared a glance at Jeno. 

"Operation Octavia is a plan to basically take over the world. To kill all those they deem as weak and in some ways, they are succeeding: they've managed to break out some of the most dangerous serial killers out of captivity and all of these serial killer have a bone to pick with Donghyuck." Jaehyun stated and a tall boy gasped. 

"They want to kill him?" Yukhei asked and Jaehyun nodded. "B-But, Donghyuck is so ... nice!" Yukhei protested and Chen Le snickered from where he was seated next to Jaehyun. 

"Are you kidding me? Donghyuck's a devil in an angel's body. He's almost as bad as Ten!" Chen Le laughed and Jaehyun smiled softly. 

"Yep, Jaemin and Donghyuck were a handful to raise." Jaehyun chuckled and Jungwoo stared at Jaehyun in shock.

"You raised them both?" He whispered. "But, you're so young!" He exclaimed and Jaehyun laughed again, amused at the awe covering the male's features. 

"Yeah, it was hard at times, but I raised them because I had shitty parents. Me and Nana ran away from home when I was thirteen and he was ten. He was such a small child when we met Donghyuck. Small, broken yet he had this fire in him — he was one of the most realest people I've seen in my life. He didn't mess around. 

When we met, he was alone and was being picked on by other boys that were around about my age. It was amazing to see him stand up for himself and he already had the skills to be a professional boxer; knocked some kid out and while he was running away, he bumped into Jaemin. Jaemin and Donghyuck bickered for a while and when I asked him where he learned to punch like that, he said he learned it from his Yongie-hyung." Jaehyun said, his gaze sliding to Taeyong. 

"I guess that was you. He's never actually really told me why exactly he dislikes you so much." Jaehyun said and Taeyong frowns. 

"He hates me." He muttered and Jaehyun shook his head with a chuckle.

"Trust me, he doesn't hate you. If he did, you'd be dead by now and not even your other gang members would've stopped him. He's stubborn like that. He dislikes you, sure, but he doesn't hate you." Jaehyun stated and watched Taeyong's frown get deeper, a crease forming between his eyebrows and Jaehyun shuddered visibly. 

"Don't frown so much. You look like Hyuck and it's fucking creepy." Jaehyun shuddered again and Mark giggled behind his hand. There was rushed footsteps and Donghyuck burst into the room, eyes blown wide and red, hair a rat's nest. 

"I — I saw — I saw J-Jaemin!" Donghyuck spluttered and Jaehyun blinked at him. 

"That's impossible, Hyuck. Jaemin's dead — you saw him covered in blood." Jaehyun reminded the younger, but Donghyuck shook his head. 

"I saw Jaemin, hyung. He was — he was there! I know it! And anyways, we never actually recovered his body, so he very well might be alive!" Donghyuck said and Jaehyun's eyebrows pulled together. 

"Donghyuck, you're tired. Go back to sleep." Jaehyun said and Donghyuck stared at him for a moment before his face fell. 

"You don't believe me?" He whispered and Jaehyun sighed. 

"Would you believe me if I said that?" Donghyuck pondered that before he sighed like Jaehyun and shook his head. "Listen, Hyuck, just go back to bed and get some rest." Jaehyun said. Donghyuck nodded to himself and turned back around, trotting back to where he had been resting. 

"Er, so ... that happened." Johnny muttered and Jaehyun sighed, averting his attention onto the leader of NCT only to see him pale and squirming. He narrowed his eyes at Taeyong.

"Yeah, it did." He mused, eyes fixated on Taeyong. 

What are you hiding? 

~~~~~~~~~~

_"Shouldn't we tell them?" Mark demanded and Taeyong shook his head, shaking away his doubts on keeping their secret._

_"No, Donghyuck already doesn't trust us, Mark, and knowing that his best friend's alive after he thought he was dead isn't the best way to earn his trust." Taeyong reminded Mark, who frowned._

_"I don't like lying to him, Yong, and neither do the others." Mark said and Taeyong sighed._

_"I know, neither do I." Taeyong said and then added; "But, he can't know. He never can know that Jaemin's alive and apart of NCT." Taeyong stated firmly, watching Mark's face twist downwards._

~~~~~~~~~~

_April, 16th, 2020_

Donghyuck was sitting alone on the garden outside; the one at the very back of the garden, laying out on the grass and soaking up the sun. It was at that time when some people decided to come up to him and sit right next to him that he finally peeled his eyes open and regarded the six males lazily. 

Donghyuck groaned. "What do you guys want?" He said, blinking at the sun once before he decided that being polite wasn't worth going blind and closed his eyes again. Jisung stared at Donghyuck. 

"What was it like being Taeyong's brother?" Jisung asked, curious and Donghyuck almost laughed aloud at the stupid question. Who would even think of asking something like that when they were literally in a gang with the male? It was almost like asking him what it was like being Taeyong's partners in crime. Instead, he snorted. 

"Shit." He settled for and someone shifted next to him, waiting for him to elaborate, but he never did. The other six weren't really expecting anything less. 

"Okay," Jeno muttered. "How about what it was like dating Mark-hyung?" At that, Donghyuck froze in his spot, his muscles locking up almost defensively. 

"Why do you ask?" Donghyuck warily asked and Johnny laughed. 

"Because we've always known Mark as a brother with absolutely no idea how to romatically convey any feelings let alone have any." Johnny chuckled and Donghyuck relaxed at that, a small smirk tugging at his lips. "We just wondered how it'd be like." Johnny said and Donghyuck laughed to himself for a moment. 

"Honestly?" Someone hummed. "It was honestly the best year of my fucking life." Donghyuck said, his lips pulling up into a huge smile as images of Mark and him in the past flashed through his mind. "He made me feel seen and ... and I never had been up until then — but Mark was different; he was everything I never realised I wanted in life." Donghyuck said and Renjun inhaled while Chen Le clapped giddily beside him. Yuta just stared at the younger in thought.

"What was he like as a boyfriend?" Chen Le asked, interested in Donghyuck's previous love life. He had never really shared anything personal about himself and now he was just spilling things. 

"Awkward." Donghyuck said, which caused the five gang members to giggle in agreement. "But, he was sweet. He'd bring me flowers everyday; put one in my locker. Jaemin would always ask who they were from and when I never answered, he would stick his tongue out like the five year old he was." Donghyuck said in amusement and even with his eyes closed, the others knew he would've been rolling his eyes. 

"Sometimes we would go on dates and he would open the door for me when we got out the car. I used to call him a gentlemen and he'd respond with a cheesy 'It's because I love you'." Donghyuck's smile grew wider at the thought of Mark's smile and the way his voice rang in his ears. "One day, we ran into Ten-hyung and Mark was sweating bullets and he was so flustered — it was the cutest thing I'd ever seen in my life ~"

"No, it wasn't. That was just plain embarrassing." A familiar voice said, sinking down next to Jeno. The six male's turned to Mark in slight surprise as they hadn't heard him come. Mark watched as Donghyuck laughed. 

"Whatever you say, Markie-Poo." Donghyuck said and Mark's ears went pink at the nickname he hadn't heard in years. "You looked like a pubescent teenager when he was caught watching porn on his computer." Donghyuck chuckled and Mark's cheeks sprinkled with pink. 

"Yah! I'm older than you — have some respect." Mark protested and saw Donghyuck's smile falter for a moment before he replaced it with a smile just as bright as the last. 

"Mmn, you never do learn do you, Markie-Poo. You know you can never win against me." Donghyuck said and the others watched in amusement as Mark pouted. He was about to retort when Doyoung descended the stairs and approached the group. Donghyuck's eyes peeled open and he laughed at Doyoung's angry stomp before flinging himself to his feet. 

"And that's my cue to leave!" Donghyuck chirped, slinking through a path just a couple feet away from where the group was sitting, avoiding Doyoung's wrath. Doyoung cursed him loudly and turned around to retreat, but not before they heard Donghyuck's tinkling laughter. Doyoung ground his teeth together as he slammed the door to the garden shut.

Jisung turned to Mark. "So, Mark-hyung, we've asked Donghyuck, so now we have to ask you. How was dating the badass Lee Donghyuck?" Jisung asked, shuffling closer as if they were all sharing a huge secret. Mark rolled his eyes, but his fond smile gave away how he was feeling. 

"Dating Donghyuck was amazing. He was ... challenging at times and would always beat the shit out of people if they so much as looked at him the wrong way. I had no idea we would take the paths we're on now." Mark recalled, giggling. Chen Le blinked at Mark. 

"Why'd you break it off?" Chen Le asked and Mark sighed, lowering his gaze to the ground.

"He broke it off with me; I never knew the real reason, but he said it had something to do with protecting me as that was when people had found out we had been dating. And they weren't as excepting as people are now." Mark said, making Renjun nod. 

"Yeah, it was like that too when I started dating my current love. He was my first and is the love of my fucking life." Renjun sighed dreamily and Chen Le gaped at him. 

"You have a boyfriend? Who?" Chen Le whispered and Renjun smirked at him. 

"I have two." He said, holding up two with his hand and Chen Le stared at him in shock, mouth hanging open. "Y-You're alright with that, right ..?" Renjun asked, curiously, but Mark could see the slight fear and hesitance in his eyes. Chen Le's mouth snapped shut. 

"Of course!" He exclaimed. "I was shocked that was all because you've got two boyfriends and I can't even get fucking one!" Chen Le moaned. "And then I find out that even Donghyuck — my stupid, plainly annoying and frankly irritating hyung — has had a boyfriend and he looks like that." Chen Le waved at Mark as if saying 'really?'

Jeno laughed loudly, amused at the youngers whining. "You're funny!" Jeno laughed and Chen Le grew confused, rubbing his neck in embarrassment. 

"I am ..?" He trailed off and Jeno nodded. 

"Yeah, you are." He said and Chen Le flushed from the praise. Johnny cooed at the younger. 

"Anyways what's the name of your boyfriends?" Chen Le asked and Renjun opened his mouth to answer when Donghyuck appeared out of thin air, dragging alomg a male with pink hair, eyes filled with flames — he was angry. Jeno and the others — except Chen Le — got to their feet, eyes widening. 

"Explain what the fuck is going on and why my fucking supposedly dead best friend is sitting in your garden playing with flowers?!?" Donghyuck shouted and Mark gulped at Donghyuck face growing even more lived than before. 

They were _so_ screwed.


	8. Chapter 8

_April, 16th, 2020_

The five boys stared back at Donghyuck's angry face for a moment, completely speechless. They all wished that Taeyong would magically appear and fix the damage that had happened, but the male was nowhere in sight and they knew that no matter how hard they prayed, he wouldn't be coming any time soon. 

"I hate all of you!" Donghyuck shouted. Jaemin moved sideways and away from Donghyuck's seething figure. And once he had done that, he locked eyes with Jeno and ran to the male, Jeno catching him in his arms. Renjun drifted closer in comfort. Donghyuck looked between the three of them and understanding flashed in his eyes. 

"I'm glad you're happy, Na Jaemin, because you made your own fucking family miserable!" Donghyuck yelled in rage before turning and stomping away, his breaths rugged as he pushed past branches. Some of them flicked back in his face and scraped his skin, blood trickling down his cheek in a thin lines. It was almost like the blood was replacing his tears.

He knew that what he had seen days before was not a hallucination, but he had hoped it was because he couldn't go through that kind of betrayal of knowing Jaemin was alive and breathing yet he hadn't come back to Donghyuck and Jaehyun — his family. 

With an inwards sigh, Donghyuck shoved another branch out of the way before he stumbled into a clearing. And there in front of him was a huge ass swimming pool, almost like it was abandoned. It was almost like it was calling for Donghyuck to relax and dive into the water. 

So, Donghyuck did what anyone would do when they were stressed; he stripped down to his boxers and dived straight into the water. 

He wondered how rich Taeyong and his gang had to be if they could afford the huge mansion and huge ass backyard with a fucking swimming pool at a random spot. Donghyuck dipped underneath the surface of the water for a moment, relishing in the flow of the water across his body. It made him feel calm and just a tiny bit alright. 

"He kept a huge secret from me." Donghyuck whispered, swimming to the other end of the pool before he repeated the action. He sighed, two voices in his head battling it out inside his mind. "But, what if he wanted to protect me?" Donghyuck asked himself and raised his head slightly, staring at the sky, pondering things in his head. 

"Do you always talk to yourself?" Donghyuck's head snapped to the male that had spoken. He was one of Taeyong's gang members, yet Donghyuck had never heard him speak before. 

"No, actually, but I'm finding it quite enjoyable right now." Donghyuck sniffed, watching the male's eyebrows lift in amusement as Donghyuck swum to the edge of the pool, eyes still locked on the male. 

"Sure thing, little one." Donghyuck was about to protest to that, but stopped short because his Appa used to call him that when he was younger. It brought back unwanted memories he didn't want to remember. "Anyways, I didn't think you'd be here; not many people know about this pool." He stated and Donghyuck frowned, brushing his wet bangs out of his eyes. 

"I was having some alone time." Donghyuck said and the male got to his feet — Donghyuck hadn't even realised he had sat down. He held a towel out — he hadn't noticed that either — and smiled softly at Donghyuck. 

"Come on; dry yourself off." He said and Donghyuck eyed him warily before turning around and pushing himself out of the water using the edge of the pool. "Here." Donghyuck happily excepted the towel and dried himself off. He pulled his clothes on, ignoring his wet hair and the male pulled Donghyuck down a small path. 

"So, what got you so hot and bothered that you had to take some alone time to calm yourself down?" The male asked and Donghyuck slung the towel around his neck, glancing at the male. 

"Why should I answer you? I don't even know your name." Donghyuck pointed out and the male smiled. 

"Si Cheng." He introduced. "Now, can you please answer my question?" He questioned, watching Donghyuck exhale slowly and look in the other direction. 

"Jaemin." Donghyuck simply said and Si Cheng made a sound of understanding. 

"Ah," He hummed. "So, you found out, did you? Jaemin's always been reckless and he was supposed to stay in his room until you had went." Si Cheng said like it didn't just crumble Donghyuck's whole world and the good side of NCT he was starting to like. Everything was crushed. 

"You knew? All of you?" He whispered and Si Cheng nodded. 

"Listen, little one, I'm not going to say sorry or anything for keeping this from you, but in your current state, you wouldn't have been able to handle it. Meeting you brother and ex is enough, but your supposed dead best friend? That's too much shit, little one. Even you couldn't handle it and act like you're okay." Si Cheng stated and he was so right that Donghyuck really wanted to punch something. 

Instead, he opted to staring at the floor until the trees cleared and the path widened; they were back at NCT's mansion. Si Cheng reached out and squeezed Donghyuck's hand once before letting go, ignoring Donghyuck's curious and questionable gaze. 

"You're going to get through whatever this is, little one." Si Cheng said, staring at Donghyuck with so much firmness that Donghyuck wondered if this had come from personal experiences. "You're strong and with a face like that, I'm sure others will be at you feet getting everything your heart desires." Si Cheng joked, making Donghyuck giggle softly. 

"Come on." Donghyuck said, before clinging onto Si Cheng's arm; Si Cheng reminded Donghyuck of his Appa — strong and handsome. "Thank you, Si Cheng." Donghyuck muttered quietly as they ascended the stairs. Si Cheng smiled. 

"Call me hyung, little one." He said and Donghyuck smiled, feeling his chest warm.

"Okay, then, thank you, hyung." Donghyuck cooed which made Si Cheng laugh as he shoved the door open and two walked into the house, being met with a group of people with worried eyes. 

"Oh my god, Donghyuck, you little shit!" Doyoung shouted and Donghyuck yelped as Doyoung grabbed him by his collar and pulled him close. "Don't ever scare me like that again, or I'm disowning you." Doyoung scolded and Donghyuck giggled. 

"Please do." He said and Doyoung let go of his collar, but smacked the male on the shoulder. 

"I'm glad you're okay. Who knows what you would do out there." Doyoung muttered and Donghyuck rolled his eyes and clung back onto Si Cheng's side, who smiled fondly at the younger. 

"Hyung?" Chen Le peaked out from behind Doyoung and Donghyuck saw Chen Le wince like he was in pain. "Earlier ..." He trailed off and Donghyuck's mood soured as his eyes wandered to where Chen Le was pointing. Jeno and Renjun were on both of Jaemin's sides, hands interlocked. The grin was wiped from his face. 

"Stop being so grumpy, little one." Si Cheng said lowly and Donghyuck spared another glance in Jaemin's direction once more before unlatching himself from Si Cheng's side. 

"I'm going to go train." Donghyuck said and started walking for the door, but before he could disappear, he turned and gave an unwavering glare to Taeyong. "And you, I want to have a word with you soon." He growled, turning and stalking off.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Why didn't you tell me?" Donghyuck shouted at Taeyong from where he was standing, hair dripping wet from the shower he had just had. He had trained until he was sweaty and then to cleanse himself, he had a long shower to relax his muscles. 

"I didn't think it was necessary." Taeyong said, calmly despite the fact that his brother was almost shouting in his face. Taeyong always seemed to be the calm one in these types of situations and it really annoyed Donghyuck as he couldn't get any reactions; it felt like everything was written in advance. Donghyuck frowned. 

"Jaemin was my best friend and my brother and you thought that keeping this from me was a good idea?" Donghyuck demanded, loudly and Taeyong gazed at him for a moment before sighing. 

"Do you know why Jaemin was shot? Do you know how he survived?" Donghyuck shook his head at Taeyong's question. "Jaemin was shot because he was too invested in NCT's life and what it stood for, Donghyuck. Just because we kill people doesn't mean we kill the innocent; only those that deserve to die get taken down by the hands of my men. Jaemin's a sweet kid and I'm not going to deny that maybe keeping this from you was a mistake, okay?" Taeyong said, watching the way Donghyuck eyed him warily across the room. 

"Why was he invested in your gang?" Donghyuck whispered and Taeyong glanced at him before sitting down in his seat, leaning backwards with a deep exhale of breath.

"Jaemin was a curious kid like you were, Donghyuck, and when Jaemin found out that I had been looking for you for so many years, he decided that he wanted to help. At first, it was small visits, light drop-in's to tell me how you were doing and what had happened since I had left. After that, it became more frequent and I thought it was because he wanted information to backstab us, but then ... then I found out that he was coming here to see Jeno and Renjun; I admit it surprised me. Renjun and Jeno are normally so closed off to outsiders, but it was like Jaemin was apart of our family." Taeyong said and Donghyuck stared at him in thought.

"So, Jaemin came here for those two? He fell in love?" Donghyuck whispered and Taeyong nodded. 

"Much like you and Mark." Taeyong stated, which made Donghyuck go a slight shade of pink. Taeyong smiled, amused at the sight of his flustered younger brother; he had never seen him act like this before. 

"Um," Donghyuck coughed and cleared his throat. Taeyong raised his eyebrows. "So, when Jeno attacked me in that alleyway ... Jaemin knew?" Donghyuck questioned, carefully, eyes flickering up to a frowning Taeyong. 

"Jeno attacked you? When?" Taeyong asked and Donghyuck blinked at him. 

"Two years ago, I was walking down an alleyway and Jeno randomly jumped out and started attacking me. I think he was trying to kidnap me, but I wasn't sure. Jaemin swooped in, took him down and whispered something in his ear and before Jeno could get up, Jaemin was already pulling me along." Donghyuck explained, cautiously watching Taeyong's frown get deeper. 

"I'm not sure if Jaemin already knew about that small attack on you, but I'm quite certain that Renjun was in fact, unaware, Donghyuck. Now that Jaemin and the duo have gotten together, they are joined at the hip and not even your small fit of rage can get them to seperate; guilt won't work and neither will nothing else. Trust me, my other gang members have tried." Taeyong stated. Donghyuck sunk to the floor, tired. 

"How did Jaemin survive?" Donghyuck muttered and Taeyong chuckled. 

"Jeno and Renjun do not like to admit this, but they dragged the dreamies to where you and Jaemin were doing that stake-out." At Donghyuck's confused look, Taeyong giggled. "The dreamies are Mark, Renjun, Jeno and Jisung ... at least at that time; now Jaemin is apart of that group." Taeyong explained, watching Donghyuck nod, unfazed at the mention of his friend being in a gang. 

"So, what happened?" Donghyuck asked and Taeyong took a deep breath, eyes getting cloudy as he remembered what had happened that day. 

"Well ..." 

~~~~~~~~~~

_"Mark-hyung, this place is really cramped!" Jisung whined, shifting slightly from behind one of the crates Jeno had made them hide behind. Renjun had said he had a bad feeling about the stake out that Jaemin and his partners were on that he and Jeno had made the rest of the dreamies come along to supervise in a way._

_"Shush, they're coming." Renjun hissed, peaking around the crate he was hidden behind with Jeno. Jisung and Mark where hidden behind the other one just next to them. Mark twisted his body and peered at the familiar figure of Jaemin and his heart picked up when he saw another familiar back._

_"Lee Donghyuck?" Mark whispered and Jeno glanced at him, shuffling closer as a third male entered behind the two, the three immediately getting to work and searching crates._

_"You know Jaemin's partner?" Jeno asked and Mark blinked at Donghyuck; he still hadn't seen his face, but he was sure it was his first, last and only love. Mark nodded._

_"I knew him in high-school." Was all he said and Jeno, knowing Mark didn't want to elaborate, got the memo and shuffled back next to Renjun, taking his hand as the four watched the trio look through crates._

_"Oh my god, this is so boring!" Donghyuck groaned, jumping on a crate that he had put the lid on after ruffling through its contents. Jaemin laughed at him and grabbed a piece of his clothing to keep him from straying._

_"Come back here, Hyuckie, you're not going anywhere. Hyung, tell Hyuck to get back to work!" Jaemin whined and Jaehyun chuckled, grabbing Donghyuck by the legs and dragging him forward. Donghyuck yelped as his feet where pulled out from under him and he turned, catching himself on a piece of pipe before he could body-slam the floor._

_"Hyung!" Donghyuck shouted, kicking Jaehyun's hands away as Jaemin laughed off to the side, eyes crinkling like he was the happiest he could ever be; none of the four had seen him like this before and it surprised them. Jeno and Renjun shared a glance before focusing back on the scene._

_"You should have seen your face, Hyuckie!" Jaemin cackled and Donghyuck growled, diving at him. Jaemin side-stepped, sticking his foot out to make Donghyuck loose his balance, but Donghyuck was faster, rolling forward and swiping his legs in a fluid motion. Jaemin's feet were pulled out from under him and he grunted as his back hit the floor._

_"You should've seen your face, Nana." Donghyuck giggled, and Mark almost gasped at the sound; he hadn't heard it in years. He was happy to find out the sound still did things to him that he couldn't explain — clearly nothing had changed. Jaehyun snickered. Jaemin sighed and got to his feet, making Donghyuck straighten up._

_"You got me, Hyuck ~" Jaemin was interrupted by Donghyuck who blinked and shifted on his feet, ears perking up._

_"Did you hear that?" Donghyuck asked and Jaemin shook his head while Donghyuck whipped out two guns from his jacket, surprising the four hiding. Donghyuck closed his eyes, letting his ears adjust for a moment before they slid open and he turned around, a bullet flying from his gun before he could aim. A painful cry was heard and then Donghyuck was shouting. "Get down!"_

_Jaemin stood frozen for a moment while Jaehyun dived behind one of the crates, bullets being pelted at the place he was previously standing. Donghyuck threw himself on one of the crates and aimed his guns at the place the bullets were coming from, pulling the triggers mercilessly._

_"Jaemin!" Donghyuck shouted from where he was standing after he had caught sight of his best friend frozen in place. "Get down!" He shrieked as a whistle of a bullet filled the air and Jaemin was flung back from the impact, a bullet in his gut. Donghyuck let loose a scream as he watched his friend bleed across the floor._

_"Jaemin ..." Renjun breathed, about to run forward and intervene when Mark caught him by the shoulder and shook his head. Renjun slumped against Jeno, tears pouring out of his eyes as he watched Donghyuck's face twist into many different emotions before Donghyuck leant down and pulled out a knife from his left boot. He spun it in his fingers._

_"You're going to all go to hell for that!" He bellowed, and with a quick flick of his wrist, the knife was flying through the air with scary accuracy. A painful scream spread through the air and it seemed like whoever Donghyuck had hit had been important for the whole warehouse was suddenly quiet. Donghyuck used the time to sprint to Jaemin, skidding to his side as he stripped off his jacket, pressing it to the wound._

_"Nana," Donghyuck choked, a burning feeling in the back of his throat. "Don't leave me ... you can't leave me. You promised." Donghyuck whispered. Jaemin chuckled, a thin line of blood falling down his chin._

_"I did." He rasped, hand coming to comb through Donghyuck's hair; red streaks appeared as soon as his skin made contact. "And I also promised to protect you. Hyung, get Hyuckie out of here, before they start shooting again." Jaemin said, weakly and Donghyuck screamed as Jaehyun grabbed him by the shoulders and hauled him back._

_"Jaemin, no! Nana — no, wait, you promised!" Donghyuck cried out and Jaemin breathed out as his blood soaked the floor, his eyes flickering to a particular spot behind the crates like he knew the four had been there the whole time._

_Renjun and Jaemin locked eyes._

_"And I never break a promise, Hyuckie." Jaemin whispered, eyes falling shut as Donghyuck was dragged out of the warehouse, his broken shouts being heard before they were silenced. Mark's face was unreadable, hardened into ice while Jisung looked like he was about to cry from what he had seen; Renjun was already crying with Jeno not far behind as they all ran to Jaemin's side._

_"Jeno, go and search the perimeter for any survivors." At Jeno's hard look, Mark growled. "Now! We need them for questioning, Jeno, or do you not want to find out who did this to Jaemin and get payback?" Mark demanded, while Renjun breathed in heavily._

_"Baby, listen to Mark. We'll get him to the car, so Taeil can patch him up." Renjun said and Jeno gave a broken look at Jaemin's figure before running out of the warehouse to search the perimeter._

_"Thanks, Renjun." Mark smiled, but Renjun didn't spare him a glance._

_"I'm not doing this for you and your leadership, Mark, I'm doing it for Jaemin."_

~~~~~~~~~~

_When the dreamies burst into the medical room with a bleeding and dying Jaemin, Taeil gasped, but got right to work, looking for supplies. He glanced at Jaemin._

_"What happened?" Taeil asked and Renjun sighed._

_"Stake-out gone wrong. Jaemin was shot and he told his partners to leave him behind. He knew we were there and he didn't do anything," Renjun whispered. Taeil looked down sadly as he started to work on getting the bullet out. Jaemin whimpered in his sleep when the scalpel did it's work._

_"You may want to leave, Injunnie. You don't like blood and Jeno's starting to panic. I would prefer if you both didn't puke all over my floors." Taeil said and Renjun and Jeno quickly exited the room, faces pale and a sick feeling in their stomachs._

_Taeil got back to work._

_~~~~~~~~~~_

_"Is he alright?" Renjun demanded as soon as Taeil walked into the living room, hands coloured red with Jaemin's blood. Taeil sent Renjun a small smile._

_"He'll be fine; he'll make a full recovery." Taeil said, watching Renjun slump into Jeno in relief, eyes closing from exhaustion._

~~~~~~~~~~

Donghyuck was left speechless. "You saved him." He whispered and Taeyong nodded. 

"Indeed they did." Taeyong stated and Donghyuck lowered his head into his hands, mind spinning from millions of different thoughts. He didn't know what to think or who to trust anymore.


	9. Chapter 9

**_April 16th, 2020_ **

Donghyuck watched Taeyong across the room for a moment, weighing out his options of whether to apologise or keep being the petty bitch he was at heart. Taeyong stared right back, one eyebrow raised in amusement as if he could sense the inner turmoil going on inside Donghyuck's head and heart. 

"Just think about that, okay?" Taeyong said Donghyuck nodded, eyes about to narrow, before he remembered the manners Jaehyun had taught him and his left eye twitched in frustration. Taeyong lip pulled up into a small smile. 

"Alright." Donghyuck muttered, getting up and leaving the room altogether, ignoring Taeyong's suddenly loud giggles coming from the room behind him. Donghyuck huffed and pulled at the bottom of his hoodie, his fingers drifting to the strings of the fabric, fiddling with them in thought. 

Taeyong had ultimately saved Jaemin; no matter how many times Donghyuck wanted to deny it, it was true. If the 'dreamies' hadn't been there, then Jaemin would be dead already and not even his apparent delusions and vivid dreams could bring him back from the dead. But, then again, Donghyuck had always considered Taeyong as good as dead for abandoning him all those years ago on that day, so why shouldn't Jaemin be sorted into the same boat? Why should Donghyuck be thinking things over? Reconsidering his view on Taeyong and his little gang of fugitives? — even if the gang had his cute ex boyfriend in it that Donghyuck was far from over. 

Donghyuck felt the body before he saw it as it knocked him backwards and he fell, hitting his head slightly on the way down. With a groan, Donghyuck reached behind his head and shook away the slight daze his eyes had adapted before focusing on who the fuck had made him almost knock himself out. And it was just his luck.

_Na fucking Jaemin._

Jaemin stood there, eyes wide as he stared down at Donghyuck with shock. Behind Jaemin, what Donghyuck had been informed of by Taeyong, was the rest of the 'dreamies'. 

" _H_ - _Hyuck_ ..." Jaemin muttered and Donghyuck scrambled to his feet, swaying on his feet slightly from the previous fall. He closed his eyes for a second, brought his hand to his forehead and clenched his eyes tightly. "Donghyuck ..?" Jaemin repeated, softly, watching Donghyuck's eyes as they slid open. Donghyuck stared at him. 

"I ... I'm sorry." Was all Jaemin said to elaborate and Donghyuck sighed, hands coming to fiddle with the sleeves of his hoodie in anxiousness. He couldn't look Jaemin in the eyes anymore. 

"Don't say that to me." Donghyuck whispered after a long silence that bit at Donghyuck's heals like rods of red hot iron. Jaemin's face grew confused. "Don't apologise to me; it should be Jaehyun your apologising to. I ... I don't ... I don't belong in a family — I've learned that over and over again ..." Donghyuck trailed off, seeing Jaemin's face fall in sadness and grief. No pity though; Jaemin never showed Donghyuck pity or anyone for that matter. 

"Hyuck ... you — you deserve everything and more. What happened to you ... in the past shouldn't have happened!" Jaemin declared in desperation and Donghyuck flinched backwards when Jaemin's voice began to get louder than his normal speaking tone. 

Donghyuck opened his mouth. 

"Hyung ..?" Donghyuck turned to see Chen Le standing in the corridor, tears streaming down his face in thick lines. Donghyuck, who was positive that they could both use the hug, opened his arms for the younger. Chen Le choked on another sob and flung himself into Donghyuck warmth, immediately crying into his shoulder and releasing the pent up emotions he felt. 

"Another nightmare?" Donghyuck hummed and Chen Le nodded, the space were Chen Le's head was buried in his neck moving up and down with the action. Donghyuck could feel the slight dampness in his hoodie from Chen Le's tears. "What of, Le Le?" Donghyuck asked and Chen Le sobbed harder; Donghyuck drawing circular motion's into his shoulder blade. 

"It was you ... of what they would do to you ... _again_ ~" Donghyuck froze, his limbs locking up in overwhelming panic he hadn't felt in years. Chen Le sniffled for a moment and in that moment, Doyoung came rushing down the corridor with Kun hot on his heals and Taeil not far behind.

"Chen Le, we told you not to leave the hospital room! Taeil was checking your vitals and health; that's important you know ..." Doyoung trailed off into silence when he noticed the position Donghyuck and Chen Le were in, understanding flickering across his face. "Again?" He whispered and Donghyuck nodded gently, Chen Le's breathing becoming soft and light as if he had fallen asleep. 

"He fell asleep?" Donghyuck murmured in confusion and Kun chuckled, extending his arms. Donghyuck softly swept Chen Le into a bridal style carriage and gave the small, slightly shivering body to Kun, who handled Chen Le like he was the most fragile thing on the planet. 

"Standing up?" Taeil asked in shock and Doyoung shrugged like it was normal.

"This ... alien does it all the time — whenever he actually takes the time to sleep." Doyoung said, gesturing to Donghyuck, who was stuck in thought, pondering something as he fiddled with the strings of his hoodie. Doyoung noticed, placing a hand on his shoulder and tilted his head, curious. "What's wrong?" He asked and Donghyuck exhaled slowly, ignoring the 'dreamies' stares. 

"It's just ... the Operation was ... barely anything when they kidnapped me and — you know — but now it's top notch and they have spies everywhere. My friend in the FBI said that he knows some people that have been acting different and if they're spies in the FBI where they're highly trained individuals that notice everything, then why ... are we — _you_ really safe?" Donghyuck whispered, drawing a sharp breath out of Doyoung. 

"Donghyuck ..." Doyoung sighed softly. "You've got to stop thinking you can save everyone — you've got to stop thinking you're the main cause of people's deaths. Jaemin for example, you blamed yourself for his death for years; up until yesterday, you were still convinced you were at fault. You've got to start realising that some things happen and there's nothing you can do to stop them, Donghyuck, but you just ... you just have to adapt and grow for future situations." Doyoung explained, ignoring Taeil's questioning look to his side and Kun's nod of agreement. 

"We don't want you to suffer anymore than you have, Hyuckie." Kun quipped in and Doyoung smiled softly in agreement. Donghyuck pulled the ends of his sleeves over his hands as if they would hide the small stumps where he had bitten them to the edge after finding out Operation Octavia was involved in the whole mess. Operation Octavia was his worst nightmare of all time — especially the things they did to him inside the godforsaken building. 

Donghyuck felt like breaking down again. 

Chen Le sniffled in his sleep as if agreeing with Donghyuck.

"I — I know, I just — I _worry_." Donghyuck muttered and decided to add because Doyoung was giving him that stupid look as if he had swallowed a bunch of slimy bugs. "I worry for others, loser, not for me obviously. For you two, for Chen Le, for Jaemin ~" Jaemin's mouth parted slightly in surprise. Donghyuck carried on. "For _Jaehyun_ most especially." Donghyuck grumbled then added saltily. "That man never has time for me." 

Doyoung laughed. "Yeah, Jae's always working his butt off sitting on that stupid desk. He's practically married to his work and you and Chen Le are like his little children slash minions." That got Donghyuck's mood up for he straightened up with a fiery glare in Doyoung's direction, lower lip jutting out at the description. 

"And you're his rat side-kick that cleans the dirt off the bottom of his soles. At least I'm a higher rank than you; you should be kneeling at my feet right now yet you're still standing." Donghyuck snapped back, and Doyoung stuck his tongue out, eyes twinkling when he shared a glance with Kun. 

"Where do I stand?" Kun asked, interested and Donghyuck scoffed. 

"Higher than Doyoung for sure." Donghyuck muttered and Kun brightened while Doyoung repeated the action he previously did, putting more bite into it than needed as a snarkish playful addition. Donghyuck smirked, his face flickering for a moment when Doyoung and Kun shared another glance. 

"You ~" Donghyuck gasped. "Y-You smart bastards. Trying to divert my thoughts until I don't think about Operation Octavia. Kun, you're smart, I'll give you that." Donghyuck said and Doyoung spluttered indignantly while Kun snickered to himself, Chen Le stirring in his arms as he silently shook. 

"It was my idea!" Doyoung protested, slightly stomping his foot and Donghyuck burst out into laughter, the dull atmosphere raising from the dumps momentarily.

~~~~~

_**April 18th, 2020** _

_A harsh slap connected with Donghyuck's face and he crumpled to the floor from the blow, eyes hazy from the sudden attack. Someone shouted his name from across the courtyard, worry and confusion lacing their voices._

_"You deserve to die!" The culprit screamed, pulling her foot back and delivering a blow to his stomach that seemed to burn as it connected with his skin._

_"Stupid!"_

_"Ugly!"_

_"Fag!"_

_"Pussy!"_

_"Disgusting!"_

_"Sin!"_

_"Disgrace!"_

_"Disease!"_

Donghyuck jerked awake, pupils blown wide from his distressing dream. People were crowded around his bed as he panted, eyes desperately searching for something around the room. It seemed like someone had shaken him awake for a face recognizable to Donghyuck was retracting his hands, but Donghyuck couldn't remember the guy’s name for the life of him. 

"Hyuckie." Doyoung whispered softly, reaching forward hesitantly, quickly pulling backwards when Donghyuck made a sound of distress, shuffling against the wall and curling himself into a small ball, rocking himself back and forward. The dream was still pliant in his mind, always on the surface of his thoughts and always present when he closed his eyes. 

"You were screaming in your sleep again." Kun murmured and once again tried to reach forward and initiate some type of contact, but Donghyuck voice was heard squeaking and backing away further into one corner of the room. After some moments of silence, Donghyuck buried his face in his knees, frame shaking silently. 

"Le Le's already rang Jae." Doyoung informed Kun, who nodded quietly, glad that Donghyuck seemed to be tuning out their conversation: he probably wouldn't hear them talking about himself in his state.

"Chen Le's in bed, right?" Kun asked, the whole room falling silent as the duo conversed, interested and curious, yet mostly confused. If Donghyuck got such bad nightmares, then why the hell was he still working on the police where nightmares were expected to come at a more frequent pace? Shouldn't the horrors of his past be enough? Why was he putting himself throught all that if he had the control to stop it? 

"Yeah. I wouldn't put him through the torture of seeing Hyuck like this. He's never broken down before; no one has seen him like this apart from Jae — he doesn't trust anyone else really." Doyoung replied, something bitter lacing his words. "Donghyuck's had it worse than anyone in the force and he's one of the youngest — Chen Le's role model is Hyuck, he looks up to him; seeing Donghyuck in this state would snap him in half." 

A deep silence settled.

"I'm here." Jaehyun whispered-shouted, flying into the room and shocking Taeyong, Mark and Jeno, who were all standing back, near the door. Jaemin was in his room after they had announced that Jaehyun was coming as the upcoming news and updates hadn't been informed to him yet. Donghyuck was planning on doing it the next day, but it seemed like the confrontation had to be pushed back slightly.

"Well, that was quick ~"

"You know I never mess around when it comes to Hyuckie." Jaehyun interrupted quickly, walking to Donghyuck's side and crouching down next to the bed. "Hyuckie, sweetie, it's me — Jaehyunnie." Jaehyun whispered, coaxing Donghyuck to look up with sweet and comforting words, murmuring reassurances when Donghyuck almost raised his head, but seemed to doubt himself and bring his head back to his knees. Donghyuck seemed so small like this; like a little kid trying to console himself, all alone and broken. 

"Donghyuck, look at me." Jaehyun said and Donghyuck finally, _finally_ lifted his head from his knees and stared at Jaehyun's left cheek, not daring to look him in the eyes. "Into my eyes, sweetie." Donghyuck hesitantly obeyed, locking eyes with Jaehyun — his brother; not by blood, but by choice and he choked up at the thought, springing forward and tackling Jaehyun to the floor. Jaehyun let out a small squeak when his back collided with the floor, eyes falling shut with the impact, wrapping his arms around Donghyuck's small frame. 

Donghyuck shivered at the warmth of his hyung.

"You're going to be okay; we're going to be okay." Jaehyun said and no matter how many times Jaehyun said it, Donghyuck couldn't help but mistrust his hyung's promises every single time.


	10. X

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating in like four months, but ... well I had writers block and that shit is not pretty, so thanks for anyone who stuck around and waited patiencely for this. 
> 
> Anygays, enjoy this recent update, lmao 💕

**_April 19th, 2020_ **

When Donghyuck awoke the next day, there was a pressing weight against his waist and side, and he glanced to the side to see a very familiar blob of brown hair. With a sigh, Donghyuck relaxed from where he had tensed and let himself melt into the soft mattress of the bed; even though Taeyong was a mafia boss, he still knew how to get a damn good bed. 

A shuffle brought his attention to the doorway and he saw Jaemin standing there with two figures behind him, hands and fingers intertwined behind his back for comfort. Jaemin was staring at the person sleeping soundly beside Donghyuck, stuck to his frame and hugging on tight like a koala. 

"Is that ...?" Jaemin trailed off into stunned silence; he hadn't expected Jaehyun to stay considering how he viewed the members living in the house and the actual mafia boss. Even Donghyuck had been hesitant on sleeping the first night, worrying that they would do something whilst he was asleep, but when he woke up the day after, with nothing but a sore neck from sleeping a weird way, he figured that sleep was something he didn't have to worry over. _When_ he got sleep at least. 

"It's your brother." Donghyuck croaked, throat feeling dry in the early morning and he lifted his hands to his eyes, rubbing the crusted sleep from his brown orbs. Last night was a blur, a distant memory that he couldn't pinpoint particular moments and would not want to even if he tried. Jaemin pursed his lips, caught between staying and seeing Jaehyun, or walking away for his own good. 

"Guys, breakfast is ready!" A shout was heard and then Renjun and Jeno were tugging Jaemin away, whispering encouragements at him and promises of seeing Jaehyun later. Donghyuck glanced down at Jaehyun, only to see him stirring in his sleep, being awoken by the loud shout for those in the house to come into the kitchen for breakfast. 

"Hyuckie?" Jaehyun asked, blinking at him for a moment, memories coming back to him of the previous night and he snuggled closer to Donghyuck, yawning. "I'm starving." Jaehyun murmured, which made Donghyuck chuckle, smile spreading along his face as he stared down at Jaehyun's tuff of messy brown hair. 

"We can get breakfast, but before that I have to tell you that ~"

"Jaemin's alive?" Jaehyun finished and got to his feet, clambering out of the bed and rubbing his eyes, stretching his limbs. Donghyuck gaped at Jaehyun like a fish out of water, hurrying to crawl to the end of the huge bed, wide eyes focused on the elder. 

"What? How the hell did you know that?" Donghyuck demanded. Jaehyun laughed, pulling his jumper off his body to reveal a no-sleeve t-shirt, showing off his strong biceps and toned body.

"I'm not the Head of Police for nothing, Donghyuck." Jaehyun stated and Donghyuck jumped off the bed, smoothening down his hair as Jaehyun did the same, walking out of the room. With hurried footsteps, Donghyuck ran after Jaehyun, seeing him make his way to the kitchen and upon walking inside, saw Jaemin with his boyfriends sitting on one of the seats. 

"But how did you know?" Donghyuck demanded once more, sliding in front of Jaehyun and pressing a hand down onto his chest to stop him from going anywhere. Jaehyun stared at Donghyuck for a moment before giggling, slipping around the younger and making his way to sit down onto one of the chairs. 

"Hello, Nana sweetie." Jaemin looked up at Jaehyun in shock at being spoken to — Jaehyun was smiling warmly at him, eyes fond. "I missed you." Jaehyun murmured, leaning down to place a kiss to the younger's forehead and when he pulled back, Jaemin nodded rapidly. 

"I missed you too, hyung." Jaemin quickly said and Donghyuck stomped to Jaehyun, swiftly grabbing his plate he was about to grab and hide it behind his back. Jaehyun turned to Donghyuck, eyeing him for a moment. 

"Tell me how you knew! And for how long?" Donghyuck whined, electing a chuckle out of Jaehyun and a laugh from the doorway. Donghyuck stomped his foot and turned to Doyoung and Kun, watching them take their seats and Doyoung leaned forward. 

"Jaehyun never tells anyone anything he doesn't want to. I grew up with him and nothing can get him to spill, not even that cute guy that wanted to know his phone number." Doyoung laughed, hand coming to his mouth as he did so and Donghyuck turned to Jaehyun, interested. 

"Cute guy? When was this?" Donghyuck asked, sitting down next to Jaehyun and having him snatch the plate back out of his grip. Jaehyun huffed to himself and leant forward to pile some food onto his plate. 

"I was fourteen, the guy was sixteen. He thought I was his age as I was quite tall for my age back then; he said his name was TY and that was all he could say. _Still_ wanted my number." Jaehyun told Donghyuck for he knew that if he let nothing go, Donghyuck would keep whining forever, eventually going back to the question beforehand. Donghyuck stared at Jaehyun for a moment before pursing his lips. 

"TY, you say?" Donghyuck asked, leaning backwards slightly on his seat and Jaehyun gripped his arm when he looked like he was going to topple backwards. 

"It was ages ago, Hyuck. It was over seven years ago." Jaehyun told the younger and Donghyuck huffed to himself before digging through his pockets and pulling out a leather wallet, pushing a worn out picture in Jaehyun's hands, marks scratching the surface like he had been folding and unfolding it multiple times. 

"Is this TY?" Donghyuck pressed, lips forming into a thin white line as Jaehyun looked down at the picture, eyes lighting up with recognition. He nodded and Donghyuck let out an amused snort. "Well I'll be damned, Taeyong flirted with you when you were fourteen and you didn't even realise you had met him again." Donghyuck chuckled and Jaehyun's eyes enlarged slightly as he stared down at the picture in disbelief. 

"No, that's not Taeyong ..." Jaehyun trailed off and Donghyuck reached out and unfolded the final folded edge, a younger version of himself staring back at them. The younger version of himself was smiling joyfully at the camera like he had no care in the world, hand clutching Taeyong's; Taeyong himself wasn't staring at the camera, but looking onwards at what Donghyuck remembered as his parents as they took the picture. It had been the one out of the two picture Donghyuck had managed to salvage, that and some jewellery of his Eomma and Appa. 

"That's me and Taeyong when we were younger and our parents were still alive. It was at Taeyong's farewell party from the little boys school to the big boy school as they liked to put it, but it was really just an excuse to have a barbecue and some cake along with celebrations. My Eomma always loved to take pictures; there was a photo album she had but it went missing and hasn't been found since the tragedy." Donghyuck stated, tapping the picture gently as though it may rip. 

"How old?" Was all Jaehyun whispered and Donghyuck stared at the picture for a moment in thought, suddenly thinking of memories he had tried to banish eons ago as they resurfaced.

"Taeyong was ten and I was five." Donghyuck murmured and then dug through his wallet once more, pulling out another photo in much better shape than the previous one. He handed it to Jaehyun and the latter glanced at him momentarily.

"What is this?" He asked, unfolding it carefully and when his eyes landed on the picture, his eyes widened. He stared at the picture for a moment. 

"That's my Eomma and that's my Appa." Donghyuck said with a soft smile, staring down at the picture with a fondness his eyes hadn't held in a long time. "Taeyong's the little boy holding my Appa’s hand and the baby in my Eomma's arms is me: Eomma said that before the picture was taken, Taeyong had been whining about not getting to hold me in his arms. She said that she had never seen Taeyong so happy before I had come along." Donghyuck murmured, brushing back his bangs as he stared at the picture, tears stinging at his eyes. 

"Donghyuck, you never did tell us what happened on that day; you were our only witness ~" Jaehyun sent Doyoung a glare to warn him about overstepping boundaries. Doyoung just glared right back, eyes falling to Donghyuck once more. "I'm serious, Hyuck, your parents killers can get the punishments that they deserve if you would just speak up." Doyoung said, but Donghyuck wasn't listening as he stared at the picture before a watery smile made its way to his face. 

"I was eight when it happened. And I still remember it like it was yesterday." Donghyuck suddenly said, ignoring the others that walked into the room, Mark and Taeyong included in the bunch of males. "Eomma had allowed Taeyong to go to his friends house, but he had forgotten his clothes and none of the friends clothes fit him, so he came back. My Eomma was reading me a bedtime story when Taeyong came back and it wasn't too long before _they_ came." Donghyuck murmured, fingers creeping forward and fiddling with the ends of the pictures, seeing Taeyong peer down at them in curiosity, only for his face to pale immediately after. 

"Is that ...?" Taeyong whispered, leaning over Donghyuck before shakily taking the picture from his hands and staring down at it for a moment. "You kept these?" Taeyong asked, turning his face to peer at Donghyuck, watching as the other gulped and nodded, looking down at his fingers as his thumbs twirled back and forth. 

"Yeah, they couldn't find the photo album." Donghyuck muttered and Donghyuck felt Taeyong's warmth fade as he hastily walked out of the room, returning moments later with a thick book full of pictures; a scrapbook of memories his Eomma had created when they were far too little to remember. Donghyuck reached for it when Taeyong dropped it onto the table, glancing at Donghyuck. 

"I haven't opened it since that day, because I was too scared, but open it with me, Hyuck-ah?" Taeyong asked, uncertainly, shoulders relaxing when Donghyuck nodded and placed his hands over Taeyong, both of them helping each other open the thick book. Inside, on the first page, was a little caption and everyone leaned forward to read it. 

"Eomma said that this album had everything in it; pictures of our grandparents and Eomma and Appa's wedding, our birth showers and every moment in between that." Donghyuck recalled, fondly stroking the hand written caption. 

"She always was a strange woman." Taeyong mused, referring to the little heading their Eomma had put. _'Colours of the rainbow in form of our memories'_ , it read and Taeyong chuckled, hearing Donghyuck giggle along at the silly picture in the corner their Eomma had put along with another at the bottom left corner; it was all of them making goofy faces at the camera with pure joy written across their faces. 

"She always helped me when I was feeling down." Donghyuck breathed as he turned the page, hearing the sound of the pages separating after a long time of inactive use. Taeyong stared down at the pictures, seeing the faces of his Eomma and Appa in their teenage years staring back at them. 

"You have Eomma's eyes, Hyuck-ah, always have." Taeyong said, stroking the page delicately like it was a dream that would disappear if pressed too hard. Donghyuck leaned closer to Taeyong and into his embrace, ignoring the way his brain screamed at him to not do anything stupid and to not trust the guy he used to call brother, but his heart — his heart was saying to forget everything and start anew. He didn't know which side was winning yet though, so he settled for the little space in between the two rivals. 

"I do?" Donghyuck whispered, tears prickling his eyes and as seconds ticked by, they slid down his cheeks although he made no noise, they were just silent tears of sadness. Taeyong noticed and reached out, wiping the tears away with his sleeve, tutting to himself quietly. 

"Of course you do. The only reason I recognised you is because of your eyes; you've grown up so much and I'm sad I missed that when I had the chance." Taeyong murmured regretfully and Donghyuck peered up at him through wet eyelashes, face forming into a desperate look. 

"Why did you leave me, hyung?" Donghyuck cried, eyes pleading for him to answer as more tears streamed down his face and Taeyong didn't bother wiping them away this time, leaning back slightly to stare at Donghyuck in surprise. Donghyuck, hidden under all the hard pretexts and hard exterior he had built up, was still the same little boy Taeyong had watch grow into a little teenager and then stopped all too suddenly; yet Donghyuck hadn't changed and Taeyong didn't know whether he should feel relieved or not. 

"It was your own safety, Hyuck-ah. If no one knew I was your brother then you had a higher chance of living. Our parents ... they weren't who you thought they were, angel, they were — let's just say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Taeyong said softly and Donghyuck pulled back, hastily wiping his eyes as little sounds of pain fell from his lips.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Donghyuck whispered, staring at Taeyong with pearly eyes and Taeyong brushed back some of Donghyuck's hair. 

"Our parents had a family business that had been passed down for generations. I, Donghyuck, am working in that family business and because of Appa's death, I have taken over." Taeyong murmured, watching realisation dawning on Donghyuck's face, hand coming to his mouth as all the missing puzzle pieces clicked into place inside his mind. 

"No ..." Donghyuck breathed, staring at Taeyong in shock, tears stilling, one hanging on to his eyelash and when he blinked once more, it cascaded down his face in an elegant way. "Appa was ... he was the Mafia Boss before you which means ..." Donghyuck couldn't finish the sentence, so Taeyong decided to do it for him. 

"Our Appa was ' _Mafia Red_ ', yes, because he took down so many bad people and corrupted governments. Eventually though, I suppose it came back to bite him in the ass." Taeyong said with a shrug, fingers picking at the scrapbook before he turned to page. He noticed a little detail in the corner of one of the pictures and pointed at it with a smile, reading the caption to find it was where they had first met. "Eomma was a stripper in one of Appa's clubs." Taeyong stated and Donghyuck's eyes blew wide as Jaehyun choked on his toast, Jaemin patting his back gently. 

"She was stripper?" Donghyuck asked and Taeyong nodded, drawing a circle around the bars name in the background with his index finger as a way to organise his thoughts. 

"Yes. They met at ' _7th sense'_ which was the bar Appa owned. They called Eomma ' _Queen Victoria'_ because she was ruthless on stage, but delicate like a flower off stage. Everything about her was elegant and she was the dancer that bought in the most income and to this day, she's a legend among all of Appa's bars. She basically stopped them from going bankrupt." Taeyong explained and then sighed, hand stilling. "Appa met her when he went to the bar with his soon to be wife, his fiancé; they weren't in love because our grandparents set them up to be together, an arranged marriage you could say." Taeyong said and Donghyuck reached forward and gripped Taeyong's hands, squeezing them gently. 

"What happened after?" Donghyuck asked. After all, this was all new to him too, and he wanted to know of his parents past really badly.

"Appa was in love within the first moments of seeing her on stage. It wasn't that she stripped for him that drew him in, he said it was the passion in her eyes when she danced. It was the way her body moved and how she danced like it was her last night on Earth." Taeyong said, quietly, smiling down at their intertwined hands. "When Appa went to our grandparents, be practically begged to be set free of the arranged marriage, and they agreed. They told him to bring Eomma to them and because of the fact that she was basically in their lives already, aware of everything that went on behind the scenes, it wasn't like it was a risk. So, they fell in love and got married and then had you and I." Taeyong finished, Donghyuck staring at him for a moment before tears streamed down his cheeks once more.

"I miss them so much." Donghyuck choked and Taeyong pulled him closer, resting his chin on Donghyuck's hair, seeing multiple individual strands of hair fly around as soon as he exhaled a long deep breath. Donghyuck shivered in his brother's embrace and sniffled wetly, Taeyong feeling the younger's tears soaking his shirt. He didn't mind, however, rather enjoyed being Donghyuck's pillar he could lean on because he hadn’t been there for Donghyuck before, but now he was. 

"I miss them too. They'd be so proud of you, angel." Taeyong said and Donghyuck let out a soft whimper, clutching Taeyong's shirt, fingers twisting in the fabric as he leaned closer into his brother's embrace. 

"I missed you too, Yongie-hyung." Donghyuck breathed, feeling Taeyong freeze momentarily underneath him. Then as if time had restarted, arms slipped around him and he was being hugged tighter, Donghyuck breathing out in content with his face buried in Taeyong's shoulder. Taeyong smiled against Donghyuck's hair, nuzzling into the soft strands with a grin. 

"I missed you more, Hyuckie." Taeyong murmured, kissing the crown of Donghyuck's head before settling back down, both content in their positions, ignoring the others as they carried on eating, stuck in their own world.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!  
> Comment what you liked and your predictions 😉


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